The History of the Microwave Oven: A Critical Review

John M. Osepchuk Full Spectrum Consulting, Concord MA, 01742, U. S.

Abstract --- Microwave-oven history appeared in the 1984 special issue of the IEEE MTT transactions. Since then, misinformation and revisionist history have appeared in print and on the web. Credit for inventorship and milestones has been questioned even in IEEE media. Allegations include neglect of contributions, including those for radar and magnetrons, in Europe and Japan. Detailed historical research rebuts most allegations and provides a detailed history of microwave ovens, including some oft-forgotten aspects like radiation fears, as well as current trends and future developments. Index terms --- History, electromagnetic heating, home appliances, magnetrons, radar.

I. INTRODUCTION The cited history [1] was titled A History of Microwave Heating Applications and not The History of Microwave Heating Applications. We recognized that any history is limited by the scope of approach, the diversity of inputs etc. Nevertheless we contacted over 50 people including a few in Europe and Japan in an attempt to be accurate and thorough. We received information from most organizations with substantial involvement in the field of microwave heating. We also had the opportunity to interview many of the key people who were involved in the history of this field before my involvementmeaning World War II and before. Since then we have had continuous involvement in this field and have greatly broadened the scope and diversity of contacts both in the U. S. and elsewhere especially in Japan and Europe. We have been fortunate to maintain close contact with the Raytheon archivist, Norman Krim, with whom we have worked to improve our historical perspective. Among the new inputs to the field are two PH.D theses on this subject by scholars in Europe The events which have triggered the need for this review include the appearance of misinformation, even in IEEE media, the appearance of new information especially on events outside the U.S in the past as well as the questioning of some of the legends in this field. In the late 1970s we were involved in correspondence [2] in the Journal of Microwave Power, published by the International Microwave Power Institute on the history of magnetron development. Most authors credited Randall and Boot [3], who were the legendary figures behind the

development of the pulsed S-band magnetrons in the U.K. that enabled the Allies to have superior radar. Indeed that invention has drawn great praise by Buderi [3] in which he terms it The Invention that Changed the World Several commentators within the JMP dialogue pointed out the many papers and developments on magnetrons that preceded the development in the U.K. as deserving prior and maybe equal recognition. These included some very good work in Europe, Japan as well as in the U.S. Our response was that, for whatever reason, the work in the U.K had immediate practical consequences and therefore deserves the special recognition. We believe a similar perspective is also needed on the subject of microwave ovens. At the same time we aim at complete attention to good work, whatever the practical consequences at the time. II.H ISTORICAL ISSUES A. Who Made the First Microwave Oven? The answer by almost universal acknowledgement is Raytheon Manufacturing Company in 1945-46 with Percy Spencer as inventor and those who helped design and build the first modelas described in [1] and almost any history of the microwave oven. Yet in 2003 in the IEEE Virtual Museum it was stated that the Germans had operated microwave ovens in the 1930s. This version of history was deleted in early 2004 and replaced by the conventional view centering on Raytheon. Where did this story come from? There existed and probably still exist websites that view microwaves as dangerous and their history claimed that the Nazis invented the machine and the Soviets banned it. A more genteel source of misinformation is found in a recent book by Bodanis [4] who described some of the notable technical achievements in the electrical engineering professions through history. For some reason he chose not to relate the story of the magnetron and radar developed in the U.K. Instead he chronicled the dramatic development by the Germans of the Wurzburg radar and linked it to the microwave oven; viz. --- A close descendant of the Wurzburg radar sits in our kitchens today.

978-1-4244-2804-5/09/$25.00 2009 IEEE

1397

IMS 2009

Authorized licensed use limited to: KYUNGHEE UNIVERSITY. Downloaded on May 04,2010 at 06:34:46 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

This is false. First of all the Wurzburg radar operated just below 600 MHz far from the frequency of todays ovens. Furthermore, the Germans were forbidden under Hitler to work above 1 GHz. This amazing fact has been confirmed by several personal communications [5.6] as well as in history books [7]. With regard to the rumor on the banning of the microwave oven, that is also equally false. In fact in my history I cite the existence of microwave ovens in the 1970s in the USSR, and I displayed a photograph of such an oven procured by Raytheon at that time. Furthermore we had ample discussion with scientists from Eastern Europe with discussion on the microwave oven [8] In researching this subject we discovered some interesting clues on who first coined the word microwave. Bryant [9], in an extensive historical review credits the French when they adopted the term micro ray in the 1930s. Later, however, there is solid evidence [10] in a history of Tuxedo Park that the financier, Alfred Loomis, a key leader in creating the MIT Radiation Laboratory, coined the term in 1939 when he created a Microwave Committee B. Who Designed and Built the First Oven? Though Percy Spencer is the inventor of the microwave oven, there were many people who contributed to the design and construction of that first oven at Raytheon, (Note that Spencer was the manager of hundreds of people who were manufacturing magnetrons for the war effort but still found time for many inventions, mostly on magnetrons). Some are mentioned in [1] and Marvin Bock is named as the engineer who built the first oven model. Recently there appeared rumors [11] in the U.K. that someone other than Spencer was the true inventore.g. perhaps Bock. Then followed a history article by Hammack [12] that claimed that Bock made most of the design decisions. My criticism of Hammacka history was then published [13] along with his response. My view is that many people were involved and I named some. Hammack claims that somebody outside of an organization is better able to make historical judgments but I disagree. C. Who Marketed the First Microwave Oven for the Home? This is a more confusing subject. First of all it is acknowledged [1], (and also in the historical museum in Baltimore) that the first microwave oven for the home was marketed in 1955 by Tappan (and later Westinghouse) under license from Raytheon [14.]. That oven, however, was a wallmounted oven and expensive (e.g. ~$1295). The more interesting question is who marketed the first countertop oven that triggered the dramatic growth in the market for consumer microwave ovens. My answer is Amana which had been acquired by Raytheon in 1965 under the leadership of its CEO, Thomas Phillips. As shown in my paper [1] logarithmic growth in sales followed the introduction by Raytheon of the

first Amana Radarange in 1967. Most historical accounts agree. In some recent publications [15, 16], however and sometimes on the web [17] there is shown a Litton countertop oven as available in 1966. As reported in [1] and elsewhere [18.19], Litton did not enter the domestic market until 1971 although it did make ovens for private label in 1970. Our history centers on events in the U. S. What about events outside of the U.S.? In recent years two Ph.D. theses in Europe addressed the subject of the microwave oven. One [20] in France by Cecile Dutarte essentially focuses on the events in the U. S. and acknowledges the key roles that Raytheon and Amana played in the growth of the market. The other [21] by Keiko Nagase-Reimer is by a Japanese scholar living in Germany. Both authors carried out extensive research in the U. S but Nagase-Reimer also researched the work in Japan. Her findings are quite noteworthy. She confirms by reference to the extensive work [22] of Nakajima that Japan indeed was working on a weapon with a super-power magnetron that could be interpreted as a death ray. Furthermore she found that in the 60s there was marketing of a consumer oven in Japan but the numbers and time schedule are uncertain, in part, because unit prices were still high. Interestingly, she notes the work of Ogura, at New Japan radio Company, as key in achieving a cost-effective design that permitted reasonably priced microwave ovens. Mr. Ogura is also found to be a key figure in studies [23] at Arthur D. Little on the same subject. She claims that her study refutes--- using the example of the microwave oven---the often uttered claim that Japanese producers only imitated Western products, i.e. made them more compact and then sold them at junk prices. We conclude that the role of Amana in marketing a countertop oven at $495.00 in 1967 was key in triggering the sales of microwave ovens into homes. Besides the record presented in [1] others like the late Robert Decareau documented [24] quite well the story of how Amana triggered the growth of the microwave-oven market. In the early 1970's the U. S. market was dominated by Amana and Litton and later joined by Tappan, GE and others. By the end of the 1970s, however, Japanese imports dominated the market as prices fell rapidly. In 1980, GE, which ceased marketing its 915 MHz range in about 1975 and marketed a 2.45 GHz oven after 1974, decided to have all its ovens manufactured in Korea by Samsung [25]. Thus by the 1990s the U. S. market was dominated by the Japanese and Koreans D. Was There a Radiation Scare with Microwave Ovens? Today, many do not know or have forgotten that there was a serious threat to the microwave oven market because of the fear of radiation This is covered in [1] but not in many other places. An exception is the work of Nagase-Reimer who describes how there was also a radiation scare in Japan although not directly related. In the U. S. the scare was triggered in 1973 when Consumers Union recommended [26] that the ovens not be bought because of uncertainty about

1398
Authorized licensed use limited to: KYUNGHEE UNIVERSITY. Downloaded on May 04,2010 at 06:34:46 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

radiation effects. Years later these fears mostly disappeared and Consumer Reports has provided a valuable service in testing and evaluating microwave ovens every year In the period before 1980 and especially in the early years there was great concern by manufacturers on how to meet the stringent microwave emission limits set by the FDA in the U. S. and basically internationalized through the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). The GE experience at 915 MHz had shown that use of contacting door seals was unreliable and led to a recall. Novel non-contacting door seals with mode control were developed in the U.S. [27, 28] and used in many millions of ovens and are still used in commercial ovens where rugged performance is needed. A different non-contacting seal [29] was developed in Japan and many modifications of this design have occurred over the years. Most consumer ovens, today, employ a door seal similar to that in [29]. Recently there was published [30] some speculation that a third type of seal, used in radar work in the 1950s, was utilized in microwave ovens. In fact there is no evidence that it had ever been used in microwave ovens for suppressing leakagewhich is different than its original purpose in minimizing waveguide reflection at side-wall slots introduced for experimental purposese.g. viewing arcing. E. Are Microwave Oven Legends True? Over the years much attention has been given to the legends about how Percy Spencer discovered microwave heating, especially the one featuring a candy bar. After interviewing many of the associates of Percy Spencer, I believe that a number of people were experiencing warmth and therefore heating of objects on their person. The reason is that in World War II there was no fear of microwaves. Therefore in the manufacture of magnetrons, at some stage, many tubes simultaneously were allowed to radiate into space creating indeed a hot environment. (A legendary story, which is undoubtedly true, is that during blackout exercises the fluorescent lamps in that part of the factory continued to glow under the presence of the microwave radiation.) Some have claimed that one or more of these events (with chocolate, popcorn, frankfurters) could not have occurred as claimed because they failed to replicate the alleged heating. But all these alleged replications are done at 2.45 GHz. On the other hand in the Raytheon factory magnetrons operating at all bands from 1 to 10 GHz, at least, were being manufactured. If frequency is a variable then we are quite confident the legends can be confirmedespecially that about the chocolate. One must be careful, however, in recreating such legends. A few years ago there was such a recreation aired on the History Channel [31]. The chocolate bar shown was a modern product wrapped in aluminized paper. A microwave engineer knows that there will be no microwave heating of the chocolate in this case.

III STATUS AND TRENDS The microwave oven is now almost universal in use throughout the world. Almost all of the manufacture of ovens, except for commercial ovens, is done in the Far East and there mostly in China. Manufacture of magnetrons is mostly done in China, Thailand and Indonesia. Engineering work is still done in Japan, Korea and to a smaller extent in the U.S. The extent of work on microwave ovens in Europe and Russia is not known to this author. The microwave oven is not only highly ranked in polls of the general public but it is recognized as a great engineering achievement by the National Academy of Engineering and surveys [32] of technical people (rated #2 in that survey). Challenging problems remain and advances are sure to come. The status and the future for microwave ovens and the broader field of microwave power applications have been addressed [33] by the author. Recently a President of MTT-S has suggested [34] that the field of microwave power applications would greatly benefit by more formal engagement by the IEEE. We look forward to such a development, IV. CONCLUSIONS The development of the microwave oven is a wonderful accomplishment and has given a new meaning to the word microwave. We in the Boston area have been fortunate to witness and participate in the key early beginnings of this development. The history of this field suggests several conclusions. One is that to maintain an accurate history is difficult and requires the continuous input of knowledgeable people. Another is that so far, this subject has been concentrated in the U.S. with little input around the world, particularly in Eastern Europe. If the vision of President Modelski is realized, not only will this technology flourish but its history will be broadened and solidified. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author expresses his appreciation to Norm Krim, who maintains the archives at Raytheon Company, and his volunteer aides (Raytheon retirees) as well as my colleagues at Amana Commercial Products in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where the microwave oven art continues. Extensive discussions with Keiko Nagase-Reimer are also appreciated. REFERENCES
[1] J. M. Osepchuk, A history of microwave heating applications, IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory & Tech., vol.MTT-32, pp. 1200 1224, September 1984. [2] J. M. Osepchuk and others; correspondence in the Journal of Microwave Power, 1980.

1399
Authorized licensed use limited to: KYUNGHEE UNIVERSITY. Downloaded on May 04,2010 at 06:34:46 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

[3] H, A. H. Boot and J. T. Randall, Historical notes on the cavity magnetron, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, col. ED-23, no. 7, pp. 724-729, July 1976. [4] David Bodanis, Electric Universe the Shocking Story of Electricity, New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2005 [5] J.M. Osepchuk: Private communication with Oskar Doehler, at CSF, Paris, France; 1956 1957. [6] Joseph F. Hull, A Young Engineer Enters the Microwave Tube Field During World War II, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. ED-31, No.11, pp. 1611-1613, November 1984. [7] John Cornwall, Hitlers Scientists, New York: Viking, 2003 [8] J. M. Osepchuk; personal communications with Drs. J. D. Dumansky and Dr. D. Los at the 1977 IMPI Microwave Power Symposium, Minneapolis, MN. May 27. 1977 and discussions with Dr. Karel Marha of Czechoslovakia in 1971 in the U. S. [9] John H. Bryant, The First Century of Microwaves- 1886 to 1986, IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory & Tech., vol. 36(5), pp. 830-860, May 1988. [10] Jennet Conant, Tuxedo Park: a Wall Street tycoon and the secret palace of science that changed the course of World War II, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002. [11] Daily Telegraph, London, U.K., p. 22, June `1, 2004 [12] William Hammack, The Greatest Discovery Since Fire, IEEE Microwave Magazine, pp. 62-70, December 2005. [13] J. M. Osepchuk, William S. Hammack, Letters: Microwave Historya Heated Exchange, IEEE Microwaves Magazine, pp. 10-11, June 2006. [14] Leo R. Reynolds, The History of the microwave Oven, Microwave World, vol. 10, No. 5, pp. 7-11, 1989. [15] Joaquin Carr, Microwave Cooking, pamphlet published by McGraw Hill, New York; pp. 23-24., ~ 2006-2007 [16] Norman H. Pond, The Tube Guys, West Plains, Missouri: Russ Cochran, Publisher, 2008. [17] Wikipedia; Microwave Ovens [18] Electronic Business Daily, pp. 72-78, July 1978. [19] Vijay Sathe, Litton Microwave Cooking Products, Case Study 477-085, Harvard Business School, 1977. 20] Cecile Dutarte, Lhistoire du four microndes: le role de lentreprise Raytheon, Universit Paris IVSorbonne, Juin 1998. [21] Keiko Nagase-Reimer, Mikrowellenkochger te: Von einer Milit rtechnik zur Haushaltstechnik, Technischen Universit t, Berlin, 13 April, 2007. [22] S. Nakajima, Japanese Radar Development Prior to 1945, IEEE Antennas & Propagation Magazine, vol. 34(6), pp. 17-22, December 1992. [23] Chapter 8, The Microwave Oven: Tis Black Magic, in P. Ranganath Nayak and John M. Ketteringham, Breakthroughs, New York: Rawson Associates, 1986. [24] R.V. Decareau, The Amana Story, Microwave Energy Applications Newsletter, vol. X, No. 2, pp. 3-8, 1977. [25] J. C. Magaziner and M. Patinkim, Fast Heat: How Korea Won the Microwave War, Harvard Business Review, pp. 83-92, January-February, 1989. [26] Consumers Union, Microwave Ovens: Not Recommended, Consumer Reports, vol. 38(4), pp. 221-228, April 1973. [27] J. M. Osepchuk, James E. Simpson and Richard A. Foerstner, Advances in choke design for microwave-oven door seals Journal Microwave Power, vol. 8(3), pp. 295-302, November 1973. [28] John M. Osepchuk and James E. Simpson, Energy Seal for High Frequency Apparatus, U. S. Patent Re. 32,664. March 10, 1988, Reissue of U. S. Patent 2,767,884, October 23, 1973.

[29] T. Hosakawa et al., High frequency Heating Apparatus, Japanese Patent No. 38,211/75 and also Canadian Patent No. 956,701, October 22, 1974. [30] K. Tomiyasu, Minimizing Radiation Leakage from Microwave Ovens, IEEE Microwave Magazine, vo. 9(1), pp. 76-78. February 2008. [31] Patent Files, Aired on the History Channel, November 2001. [32] Carl Vogel, 30 Products that Changed Our Lives, R&D Magazine, pp. 42-46, September 28, 1992. [33]. J. M. Osepchuk, Microwave Power Applications, IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory & Tech., vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 975-985, March 2002. [34] J zef W. Modelski, MTT-S Technical CommitteesOur Motive Power to Progression, IEEE Microwave Magazine, vol. 9(6), pp. 14, 16, 18 and 32, December 2008.

1400
Authorized licensed use limited to: KYUNGHEE UNIVERSITY. Downloaded on May 04,2010 at 06:34:46 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.