The first patent for a microwave oven was filed on this day in 1945 by the Raytheon Manufacturing Company, a company much better known for its weapons manufacturing than domestic appliances. Inventor Percy Spencer was brilliant, having taught himself trigonometry, physics, calculus, and other scientific disciplines while working as a U.S. Navy radio operator.
After the First World War, he found work at Raytheon, where he worked on magnetrons, devices that emit microwaves. One day, Spencer noticed the chocolate in his breast pocket was turning to goop. After testing microwave radiation on several other foods, he and his team realized the potential of microwaves for quick and easy food prep.
He and his colleagues slapped together a 750-pound machine that history counts as the first microwave, which was installed on a cargo ship. It took over 20 years from the patent’s filing for microwaves to land in consumers’ homes due to fears of radiation and high prices. By the seventies, microwaves were a staple of American kitchens.
You can read more about the invention of the microwave at IEEE Spectrum.
