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Everyday Objects Placed In a Microwave

Tom writes "Everyday objects can produce interesting effects when you stick them in a standard microwave. Grapes spark, matches create superheated plasma fireballs, mini lightning-bolts arc between sheets of aluminum foil, and soap both splits open and puffs up, creating a somewhat vulgar spurt of bubbly excrement that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. However, as cool as microwave experimentation can be, balls of plasma and the like are bad for both your eyes and your microwave, so it's probably best not to try these things at home. update This site apparently is behind a really nasty popup that I missed (yay Firefox) the first time through. You've been warned... here it is but given the overall rottenness of the pop-up, I guess I wouldn't bother. Some folks know no shame. My apologies to the readers.

50 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. alt.ftsoj by suso · · Score: 3, Funny

    What? No kitty cat?

    1. Re:alt.ftsoj by KingOfBLASH · · Score: 2, Funny

      Would you like white meat or dark meat with your Thanksgiving dinner?

  2. Spam by Salvance · · Score: 5, Informative

    While the videos are pretty entertaining, there's a ridiculous amount of spam and popups (particularly on ie). After every video, I was taken to another site where it said I had to order a plasma screen TV just to watch the vid, uuggghhh.

    --
    Crack - Free with every butt and set of boobs
    1. Re:Spam by jginspace · · Score: 4, Informative
    2. Re:Spam by Joebert · · Score: 5, Funny
      I was taken to another site where it said I had to order a plasma screen TV just to watch the vid

      Well, we can't have you watching such entertaining videos on some inferior non-plasma tv now can we ?
      Come on, this is Super Heated Plasma Fireballs we're talking about here, it's only fitting that they're watched on a vision re-production device capable of understanding the concept of Plasma, isn't it ?
      Being a member of Slashdot, I expect you to be rather smart, hell, I bet you're A Nuke-u-lar Scientist, am I right ?
      Well then, you more than most should understand that a screen capable of using Plasma, will be best for reproducing the effects of the video.
      Do you remember early TV sets & the snow effect ?
      Of course you do, what if I told you that if you buy this TV, you wouldn't even need to get that video ? You could just turn this puppy on & stare at the screen, BAM, instant Plasma video & you didn't even have to waste your time downloading a video off the internet.

      So, will that be Visa or Mastercard ?
      --
      Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
    3. Re:Spam by BravoFourEcho · · Score: 2, Informative

      Don't have that problem in Firefox 2. Then again, it might have something to do with the hosts list I grab from here, too. But I'm betting on Firefox, since I don't gat "Page cannot b displayed."

      --

      What good is a double standard if you can't enforce it?
    4. Re:Spam by jcutting · · Score: 2, Informative

      If you are using IE7, temporarily change the pop-up blocker settings to High - it blocks everything, and you just get to the video pages when you click the various links - not one pop-up.

    5. Re:Spam by TCM · · Score: 4, Informative

      *I*'m using Firefox with noscript and didn't get the spam/pop-ups/redirects. Allow Javascript only for wontonway.com and you're fine.

      --
      Of course it runs NetBSD. BTC: 1NT7QvbetmANwaMzhpVL6
    6. Re:Spam by TheRealBurKaZoiD · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I viewed it with FF2, and I wasn't aware of any links or popups on the page. I went straight to the videos. I don't think it was anything FF did though (maybe the popup blocking), because I have a ginormous HOSTS file blocking just about everything.

    7. Re:Spam by tylernt · · Score: 2, Funny
      Come on, this is Super Heated Plasma Fireballs we're talking about here, it's only fitting that they're watched on a vision re-production device capable of understanding the concept of Plasma, isn't it ?
      So... what if yout put a plasma TV in a microwave?

      The universe as we know it might implode.
      --
      DRM 'manages access' in the same way that a prison 'manages freedom'
    8. Re:Spam by Joebert · · Score: 2, Funny
      The universe as we know it might implode.

      Perhaps, but not in the sense I believe you're thinking of.
      You see, I payed alot of money for this State Of The Art Plasma TV, actually, I'll be paying for it about the same length of time I'll be paying for my house when you figure in intrest & fees.
      So yes, if you put it in the microwave, the universe as you know it, will cease to exist, aka, implode. :)
      --
      Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
  3. Food Fight by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 5, Funny

    I take a ripe 1" cherry tomato, insert a wooden toothpick into about the center, and put it on high for about 1-2min. The tomato launches the toothpick across the microwave.

    So then I take 20 1" cherry tomatoes, insert toothpicks, arrange them in ranks facing each other at the range of the tested shots, and cook my favorite "tomatoes battle royale".

    I'd love to see someone video that to YouTube, maybe with some other characters inserted into the battlefield. Like grapes injected with rubbing alcohol, which will boil and burst faster than the watery tomatoes shoot.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

    1. Re:Food Fight by kfg · · Score: 2, Funny

      . . .it'll probably take months before I have the time to spend a half-day having a blast with this little feature.

      Prioritize, Dude. Prioritize!

      KFG

  4. Photocamera by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I remember one time when I was on a weekend drinking session in Belgium, one of my friends proposed that microwaves only heat up objects with water in it. So the digital photocamera should withstand 10 seconds of radiation... I was allready passed out at the moment and learned from the disaster the next day.

    A few months later I decided to check whether the flashcard still worked. It did! After viewing the photo's and movies we made before frying the camera, we could remember a lot more about that night:P

    1. Re:Photocamera by Dun+Malg · · Score: 4, Insightful
      one of my friends proposed that microwaves only heat up objects with water in it. So the digital photocamera should withstand 10 seconds of radiation
      He was right on the first point, but utterly stupid to think that the only thing microwaves do is heat water. Microwaves induce electric currents in metal. If you microwave a complex enough electronic device, guaranteed something inside it is going to get a nasty, fatal overcurrent. This is one of the dangers of adult beverages. They make people forget their ignorance and come up with all sorts of terrible "logical" conclusions.
      --
      If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
    2. Re:Photocamera by MankyD · · Score: 3, Informative

      Right, but it heats up for a different reason. Microwave energy directly transfers to heat energy in water. In metals, it generates electric current first which in turn generates heat due to electrical resistance.

      --
      -dave
      http://millionnumbers.com/ - own the number of your dreams
  5. Instructions for superheated plasma fireballs... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    1. Microwave one of those Hungyman "Beef" Taco dinners with potato wedges for approx 10 minutes.
    2. Eat said Hungryman dinner.
    3. In approx 40-120 superheated plasma fireballs should start expressing themselves out your posterior.
    4. Change underwear as needed.

  6. Finally... for nerds...stuff that matters... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm tired of all the Microsoft/Novell stuff, NASA going to asteroids, the latest PS3 updates, etc.
    FINALLY... information that matters to ME in such a way that the whole Britney/Fed-Ex stuff seems to matter to everyone in the US.

    (and in case you think I'm being sarcastic and mod me -1 Troll... no, I'm serious...I am very excited about an article about putting various things in Microwaves...I like the patterns it makes on CDs, and I like the electrical storm that the "split grape" shows)
    (and yeah, after Dave Barry mentioned toasters & pop-tarts...I did that TOO...my wife was not happy)
    (now if only I could get my hands on some liquid Oxygen for the barbeque)

  7. That's Why the Internet Is So Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ``However, as cool as microwave experimentation can be, balls of plasma and the like are bad for both your eyes and your microwave, so it's probably best not to try these things at home.''

    That's why the Internet is so great. Other people run destructive experiments and publish about them, so I don't have to.

  8. Microwave by also-rr · · Score: 5, Funny

    When I first read this story I was inspired. I tried placing a microwave inside a larger microwave.

    There was a bizzare blue flash and I ended up with a tiny member of the royal family. I was surprised, I can tell you.

    1. Re:Microwave by NormalVisual · · Score: 2, Funny

      And now you can really put Prince Albert in a can.

      --
      Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
    2. Re:Microwave by WilliamSChips · · Score: 2, Funny

      Don't you know? The Royal Family are WEREWOLVES!

      --
      Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
    3. Re:Microwave by horati0 · · Score: 3, Funny

      When I first read this story I was inspired. I tried placing a microwave inside a larger microwave.

      There was a bizzare blue flash and I ended up with a tiny member of the royal family. I was surprised, I can tell you.


      David Lynch called. He wants the idea for his next movie back.

      --
      The neutrality of this sig is disputed.
    4. Re:Microwave by multisync · · Score: 2, Funny
      There was a bizzare blue flash and I ended up with a tiny member of the royal family


      That's just Charles, shrunk down to tampon size for Camilla
      --
      I don't care why you're posting AC
  9. fun but dangerous by crankshot999 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    get a casette tape and cheap mini player stick both in the microwave and play the tape. the tape turns cool colors and then the batteries explode!

  10. IS IT STILL 1995? by quonsar · · Score: 3, Funny

    is Mr. T done eating my balls?

  11. plasma by cool_arrow · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I once burned a hole in the top of a microwave admiring a big plasma blob that was created with cigar smoke. Fortunately it was a MW at work which I owned. I've also exploded numerous lightbulbs (small explosions) in the MW, zapped many cd's etc. Turning a clear pyrex bowl upside down and slightly propped up on one side on the MW turntable will help contain the plasma blob until the bowl breaks or melts. Very cool, I mean hot.

  12. Braniac has been doing this for ages.. by Channard · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not the superman villain but UK explosive science show 'Braniac: Science Abuse' - they regularly stick stuff in Microwaves, as well as do other things like demolish safes with tanks etc. It's a great show - here are the Microwave clips on Youtube - http://tinyurl.com/y6oan8

  13. Grapes by waterford0069 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I get the metal objects sparking...

    I get the skinned objects exploding...

    I even sort of get the soap puffing...

    What I don't get is the grapes sparking - what's going on here?

    1. Re:Grapes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Answer. Enjoy!

    2. Re:Grapes by ScrewMaster · · Score: 4, Funny

      Haven't you ever heard of ... sparkling white wine?

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  14. SpamDot!?!! by capsteve · · Score: 5, Insightful
    DO NOT CLICK THE STORY LINK!

    DO NOT CLICK!

    DO NOT CLICK!

    DO NOT CLICK!



    don't give jagbags like this guy the satisfaction actually steering traffic to his site.

    video viewing requires some inane product registration. this guy is trying to get free product thru your clicks, and figures a high traffic generating site like /. will give him the clicks for free product.


    what's up with that, tomcat7194@gmail.com?!?? run out of friends and family to sell out for your free ipod and mac mini, you gotta try the /. community? i think this kind of behavior will get your gmail account banned.



    WTF! i can't believe CT would actually allow a submission like this to make it all the way thru...

    come on CT, wake up, drink coffee, and kill this f*ckin' article! ./ get's abused enough, don't let it get abused with this kind of trash or people will think /. has jumped the shark!!!

    --
    three can keep a secret, if two are dead - benjamin franklin
    1. Re:SpamDot!?!! by BruceCage · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Hear, Hear!

      This story should be removed immediately, it being a slow news day is no excuse for posting something ridiculous as this. Amazing how this even got through.

      --
      Perfect is the enemy of done.
  15. Fun Mr Wizard experiment by edwardpickman · · Score: 4, Funny

    Place a six inch ball of pultonium wrapped in one inch of plactic expolsives in microwave. Heat on high until plutonium atoms fuse.

    1. Re:Fun Mr Wizard experiment by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Place a six inch ball of pultonium wrapped in one inch of plactic expolsives in microwave. Heat on high until plutonium atoms fuse.

      Better yet, take the ball of plutonium and form two hemispheres of beryllium (a neutron reflector) around it to fit closely. Put the ball in one hemisphere. Then, using a screwdriver as a spacer, lower the other hemisphere over the plutonium ball. Make sure not to slip. If you see a blue flash from Cerenkov radiation inside your eyeballs, write your will after you've stopped barfing.

      (They actually did similar experiments at Los Alamos in the 40s. And, yes, the screwdriver did eventually slip. Not only once, but two people actually got "bit by the dragon."

      -b.

  16. 2001 called... by Klaidas · · Score: 4, Funny

    They want their fun science back :)
    http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=microw ave+brainiac
    Ah well. Slow news days happen, don't they?

  17. Green Olives by digerata · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Kid you not. Green olives will spark in the microwave. Place three in a circle with the orange center (forgot what that's called) close to each other and nuke em. Sparks will fly!

    --

    1;
    1. Re:Green Olives by digerata · · Score: 3, Funny

      That's it! I kept thinking palmolive instead.

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      1;
  18. Actually, it does work by dereference · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's a much better description.

  19. Don't try that when you're hungry by ianalis · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A friend accidentally learned that it's not a good idea to put just any type of mug in a microwave oven.

    One night, he was staying overnight in the lab and became hungry so he decided to cook instant noodles using the microwave oven. He got a mug, choosing probably the one nearest the oven, put some water and noodles, and placed them in the oven to cook. It turned out that the mug is actually a metal cup covered with plastic with an attached plastic holder. As expected, the mug heated up so much that the plastic melted and left the mug in a funny, distorted shape.

    Unfortunately for him, the mug has a sentimental value to the owner since it was given by another labmate. He was forced to become an assistant to that labmate in a talk in order to replace the mug with an exact copy.

    The funny and ironic thing is we are both physics majors and members of an instrumentation physics research lab (the lab that I'm talking about). The owner of the mug is also the professor in the optics course we are taking during that time.

    The moral of the story: be extra careful when you're hungry :)

  20. Re:Which Halo is better? by ScrewMaster · · Score: 3, Funny

    A much better question, and more importantly, one that is actually relevant to this thread, would be "what happens when you put an operating XBox into a microwave?" We really need an answer to this question, so if you would be so kind as to perform the experiment and post a link to the video here on Slashdot we would greatly appreciate it. You'll get extra credit points if the machine is playing Halo 2 at the time. Don't worry about your girlfriend's reaction, she obviously just bought the machine to get you to stay at her place for more than five minutes and will soon get over the loss.

    --
    The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  21. Web 0.2 by DJRikki · · Score: 4, Funny

    obvious_joke_about_vintage_webpage++;

  22. Aye! by no-body · · Score: 2, Funny

    as you wish - slashdotting the popup, it's already slow....

  23. Pop-up? by Digital+Dharma · · Score: 2, Funny

    I use IE 7. Never even saw a popup. Perhaps the poster should switch?

    --
    End of Line.
  24. Warning Braniac does fake thier results by technoextreme · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.badscience.net/?p=270
    Presumably they ended up faking an explosion where they placed lithium?? (Something highly reactive around lithium) into the bath tub. It just didn't explode so they blew it up using explosives. Much worst than the Mythbusters where their explosions actually happen and if it doesn't they make it clear they are blowing up stuff.

    --
    Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
  25. Google Ads + popups? by JourneyExpertApe · · Score: 4, Informative

    That's gotta be a violation of Google's terms of service.

    --
    If you can read this sig, you're too close.
  26. CDs are great by kaan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I used to zap CDs in the microwave, both for the show (it's cool to watch) and the results (the cd looks cool afterward). I was one of the few people who actually looked forward to a new AOL sign-up cd.

    I haven't nuked a cd in years, mostly because it smells awful. But if anyone out there hasn't tried it, you should, and make sure you open your windows and get a fan, and be prepared for a smelly kitchen for a day or so. It's very cool to watch a cd inside a microwave - for a brief moment you'll see a wave of electricity spread from one side to the other, right across the surface of the cd. And afterward, the pattern will remain etched onto the aluminum of the cd itself, so you'll have a cool looking cd.

    Trial and error shows that you'll get the best results by keeping the microwave time to a bare minimum, maybe only 1 second.

  27. Clarkson beat 'em to it by SpooForBrains · · Score: 2

    Back in, ooh, 99, 2000ish if my memory serves, Jeremy Clarkson had a short-lived chat show called, surprisingly enough, Clarkson. One of the regular segments was putting something (like christmas lights, for example) into a microwave to see what happened.

    The experiments I remember as being even more fun were the potato canon (a potato placed in a spaghetti tube with hair spray in the bottom that was heated to the point of ignition) and its larger brother, the turkey canon (similar principle, but with a steel bin).

    When I saw Brainiac, it immediately reminded me of those segments of Clarkson. Plus, you know, it was fun for about half a series, but it's got old now. There's only so many ways you can blow something up ... !

    --
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