I bought a microwave oven yesterday. Apparently they are useful for babies. Anyway, it has a button labeled “Chaos Defrost”. The user manual only says that this is for defrosting things. You can’t label a button “Chaos Defrost” and not explain the “Chaos” part! It’s too tantalising.
Thank goodness for the Internet. Apparently, random bursts of high-power microwaves will defrost more quickly and evenly than constant low power. I can imagine it has something to do with allowing heat to conduct between bursts. But that wouldn’t need chaos theory to explain it, and the randomness seems important. Unfortunately, the paper is behind a paywall.
You’re nuking butterflies now?
Or is it more of a Warhammer thing?
I have a really cheap microwave oven. It has two knobs on it. One to set how long it should be turned on for, and the other to indicate what power level it should operate at.
More expensive microwave ovens have all kinds of buttons with all sorts of weird legends and instructions on them. As far as I can tell, these are also completely useless.
TPO: Yes, I always did tend to play chaotic good.
Michael: don’t Australian microwaves have a barbecue button?
Cool. And maybe I should watch House. Malcolm Reynolds must have been chaotic good, too.
Rob: Absolutely. Also, the high end ones have a button on the controls illustrated with a stylised blue “F”, which allows you to automatically marinate your food with beer.
WRT your low-power comments, I was always under the impression that duty cycle was the only way to vary power out of magnetrons, and that fundamentally they didn’t like being underdriven.
But hey, I’m not a microwave/RF engineer.
@ Michael Jennings Post: 23/3/2010 at 8:20 pm
Not true.
You may be what is considered technophobic.
Yes, you are quite right. I am a technophobe. Also, I am a leprechaun.
Best laugh I’ve had all day, Rachael.
I’m with Michael here. Got the same kinda microwave and I’m a physics and astrophysic graduate who works in IT. “Chaos defrost” sounds like something you’d used to warm -up the frost giants for Ragnarok. Two dials is the ideal user interface for a microwave.