Antennas & Microwaves

Measuring c in your kitchen

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• A half-wave dipole antenna is about λ/2 long.
• Microwave ovens make standing waves. Hot spots are λ/2 apart.
• Microwaves heat food by twisting polar water molecules, not by a sharp resonance.

Steps

1. Antennas
2. A Wi-Fi antenna
3. Chocolate and the speed of light
4. Kitchen physics
5. Standing waves in the oven
6. A common myth