AboutParas Anand Expertise I have studied molecular biology & cell biology. I would be happy to answer your general questions on cells, their organelles, membranes and host-pathogen interaction. I will not answer questions on basic biology.
Question Not sure I'm asking the right person but here goes. I was in a hurry the other day and threw a burritto in a microwave which also contained about a dozen ants. Two minutes later the burritto was ready and the ants were, to my surprise, alive. Can you please tell me how or why they could survive the microwave?
Thanks in advance,
James
Answer Hi James,
Thank you for your very interesting question. Honestly, I do not know the answer. However, this question has been raised in many forums and I found a suitable answer on the internet (http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=265489). Please find it below.......
Best,
Paras
...........
To understand the reason why an ant survives in a microwave oven is to
understand the way a microwave oven works. A microwave oven emits a
form of energy called ‘standing waves”. That is to say that evenly
spaced, stationary waves of energy bombard the turntable (or plate) in
a vertical fashion so that only specific areas of the turntable are
struck by the waves. Everything inside the microwave is not
necessarily exposed to the waves, especially when the turntable is
motionless. This is why you notice that certain portions of your food
are well heated while others remain cold whenever the turntable is not
moving. The sole purpose of the moving turntable is to ensure that all
areas of the food pass through the stationary ‘standing waves”.
Increasing the intensity of the microwave oven doesn’t turn up the
heat, it activates more ‘standing waves” in a given area of space.
The physical size of an object has little to do with its
susceptibility to microwave generated heat. In fact, chemists use
microwave technology to heat sub-micron particles. The ant’s size only
comes into play because he is able to navigate between the ‘standing
waves’ by sensing the areas where there is high volume heat and low
volume heat. You can visualize the patterns of low heat v. high heat
by filling a paper plate with marshmallows and putting them in the
oven with the turntable turned off. After a few seconds you will see a
pattern of melt or blistering on the marshmallows that are exposed
while the others seem unaffected. Additionally, the intensity of the
waves is greater in some areas than in others. You can see this by
putting a pat of butter on the surface of the turntable and another on
the bottom of an overturned paper cup. The one on the cup will melt
long before the one on the turntable, because the wave intensity is
lower near the bottom and sides of the oven than it is at various
points elevated just above the turntable (where food heaped on a is
plate usually located).
A single ant, or even a few ants, can simply walk around between the
waves of energy, making their way from one safe area to the next, and
avoid getting nuked. If, on the other hand, you put a thousand ants in
your microwave and agitate them so that they are running around in a
panic, you will, without a doubt, see many of them turned to toast.
I hope this provides an answer to your question. I look forward to
working with you again in the near future.
