The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

Innovating With the Help of a Chocolate Bar

Normally chocolate bars cause feelings of guilt and regret. They taste so great, yet everyone knows how unhealthy they are. The trouble is that when they are sitting and melting in the pantry and just waiting to be eaten, it is nearly impossible to resist their temptation. Chocolate bars tend to only create a tasty treat and shame.

This, however, is only a fraction of the importance that the chocolate bar had on the life Percy Spencer. Spencer was a self-taught engineer that grew up in Howland, Maine and was working for Raytheon, a company specializing in making radar systems for the WWII allies.

What make radar systems work is microwaves, an idea that was then used for technology such as telephones, long distance television broadcasts, and speed cameras. While the microwave had already been utilized for long-distance communication, using the technology for heating food had never crossed anyone’s mind. Not until Spencer made a terrific discovery.

During one of his shifts while working on a functioning radar, Spencer happened to notice that the Mr. Goodbar chocolate bar in his pocket had started to melt. After such a peculiar happening, Spencer began to experiment with what happened and eventually realized that the microwaves coming from the radar were the cause of his melting chocolate bar.

Soon, Spencer was trying food other than chocolate bars. He tried popcorn, and then he warmed up an egg, which exploded and landed on one of the other scientist’s faces.

By this time, the scientist knew that he was onto something, so he decided to invest a little more time and effort into his project. Instead of using a radar, Spencer took a microwave-producing magnetron and attached it to a small, metal box. His idea was that he could trap the microwaves in the metal box and make the machine more efficient, and this is exactly what happened.

Spencer’s experimental data showed that the temperature of the food inside of the microwave oven rose rapidly.

Raytheon, the company that Spencer was working for at the time, saw the potential of such a machine and quickly patented and tested the machine. It was officially used by the public for the first time in a Speedy Weeny mobile hotdog vending machine.

In 1947, Raytheon sent a microwave called the Radarange to production, but this machine definitely had room for improvement. It cost over $50,000 in today’s money and weighed 750 pounds. Other issues included its height of five feet eleven inches and it taking three times as much power to operate as compared to modern microwaves.

Eventually, however, the microwave became a big hit and commonplace in every American kitchen. So not only did Spencer get his name written in the history books, but he also gained a better, more healthy perspective of the chocolate bar.

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Innovating With the Help of a Chocolate Bar