Measuring the Speed of Light with a Microwave Oven_Science Fair Project

Measuring the Speed of Light with a Microwave Oven Maria Isabel Suarez IB Biology 2 Period 3 Science Fair Project Problem Statement Does measuring the speed of electromagnetic waves in th e microwave portion of the spectrum by measuring the spacing between hot spots in a microwave oven will help me prove and understand the speed of light? Background Information Microwaves, like light, are an example of electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves can travel through the vacuum of interstellar space. They do not depend on an external medium—unlike a mechanical wave such as a sound wave, which must travel through air, water, or some solid medium. Electromagnetic waves cover a huge range of frequencies, from high-frequency gamma rays and x-rays, to ultraviolet light, visible light, and infrared light, and on into microwaves and radio waves. As the frequency decreases, so does the energy. The wavelength of an electromagnetic wave is inversely proportional to its frequency. So waves with high frequency have short wavelengths, and waves with low frequency have long wavelengths. Electromagnetic waves interact with materials in different ways, depending on the nature of the material and the frequency of the electromagnetic wave. Microwaves work well for cooking because their energy can be efficiently absorbed by molecules commonly found in food, including water, sugars, and fats. The absorbed microwave energy heats these molecules and cooks the food. As you can see in Figure 1 below, the range of microwave wavelengths is from 0.01 cm to 10 cm. Figure 1. The electromagnetic spectrum. Electromagnetic radiation covers a huge range of wavelengths. Light (the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can detect with our eyes) is only a small portion of this range. X-rays, light, and microwaves are all examples of electromagnetic waves.