On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1470

these phenomena is a part of the
electromagnetic spectrum, waves of varying
energies created by the movement of
electrically charged particles, often electrons
within atoms. Such movement creates
electrical and magnetic fields that radiate, or
spread out, as waves. And conversely, when
such energetic waves hit other atoms, they
cause increased movement in those atoms.
One of the first to recognize that heat
radiation is related to light was the English
oboistandastronomerWilliamHerschel,who
noticed in 1800 that if a thermometer was
moved from one end of a prism-produced
light spectrum to the other, the highest
temperatures would register below the red
band, where no light was visible. Because of
its position in the spectrum, heat radiation is
calledinfrared(infraisLatinfor“below”).
Different Kinds of Radiation Carry
Different Amounts of Energy Different


kindsofradiationcarrydifferentenergies,and
the energy of a given kind of radiation
determinesthekindofeffectthatitwillhave.
Atthebottomendofthescale,radio
wavesaresoweakthattheycanonly
causeincreasedmovementinfree
electrons.Thisiswhymetalantennasand
theirmobileelectronsarenecessaryto

transmitandreceivesuchradiation.
Nextcomemicrowaves,whichare
energeticenoughtosetpolarmolecules
likewatermovingfaster.(Microwave
referstothefactthattheirwavelengthis
shorterthanradiowavelengths.)Since
mostfoodsaremostlywatermolecules,
microwaveradiationisaneffective
meansofcooking.
Thenthere’sheatradiation,thecook’s
standardenergysource,whichcausesthe
increasedmovementofnonpolar
molecules—includingcarbohydrates,
proteins,andfats—aswellaspolar