Metal In The Microwave

So I was microwaving a bowl of stew and I forgot to take the spoon out.
My mother sees this and freaks out over how I coulda broken the microwave and burned down the villiage.
I pull out the manual for the microwave and open it to the page that explicitly states that you can put metal in the microwave, and it is in fact recomended.

So, for anyone who's ever been yelled at for doing that, here's the low-down...
To safely put metal into the microwave, keep these tips in mind:

1. NEVER LET IT TOUCH THE SIDES - A microwave magnetron is a grounded device (meaning it's wired to the outer casing of the microwave). If an electric current is forced into its grounding line, it'll cause a feedback loop and burn out the magnetron (and potentialls cause a fire). Keep any metal you do microwave at least 1 1/2 inches from the sides.
2. Never place it directly on the turntable/glass plate - Metal acts as a shield to microwaves, and as such will inherantly get quite hot (as it absorbs quite a lot). Hot enough to shatter glass.
3. Sparking is normal - Any metal with points (a fork, tinfoil etc.) will naturally build up an electric charge and then discharge it.
4. Microwaves cook from the outside in - If you're re-heating something and find the outer edge is cooking too fast, pull it out and wrap a piece of tinfoil around the outer edge. It will reflect/absorbe some of the microwave energy and prevent the edges from cooking further.
5. Metal gets hot - So exploit this fact. If you're using a porcelein mug, place a small spoon in it and the water will come to a boil that much sooner.

Safe microwaving!

Ps. On an "Is It A Good Idea To Microwave This?" note, the reason microwaving a microwave resulted in the microwaving microwaves' demise was because they microwaved the magnetron, which (via induced current) caused the microwavee to act as if it were plugged in. Basically, they microwaved each other to death.

 

Try a CD, see what happens then.

 

Metal in the Microwave is a good name for a heavy metal song.
One time my microwave started sparking like a motherfucker when it was empty. We got a new one.

 

one time my mom stuck a fork in the microwave and there was a mini lightning bolt.

 

One time an old lady wanted to dry her kitten up after a bath and so she placed it in a microwave and... the story has been retold so many times.

 

This one time, at band camp, I stuck a flute in my microwave.

 

I was a lazy bugger and stuck a "foil" covered cookie in a microwave for 20 seconds to heat the chocolate inside it up.


Bloody thing unwrapped itself

 

I was a lazy bugger and stuck a "foil" covered cookie in a microwave for 20 seconds to heat the chocolate inside it up.


Bloody thing unwrapped itself

Did you eat it? o.o;;

 

Did you eat it? o.o;;

 

My microwave is starting to run when the door is closed and isn't on. A pretty big problem.