Programming the microwave oven

Microwaves can be used to stimulate chemical bonding, diffusion of reagents into and out of the specimen, and coagulation processes in preparatory techniques. Temperature plays an important role in these processes. There are several ways of controlling the temperature of microwave-exposed tissue, fluids and solids that are used in these preparatory techniques. In this paper we describe our accumulated experience with monitoring and controlling microwave-oven parameters with the help of a personal computer (PC). A specially designed microwave oven was used with an advanced temperature probe. The oven was connected to an IBM-compatible PC. This enabled us to analyze the quality of temperature control, and the relationship between displayed and actual temperature. We show that for microwave-transparent materials the addition of a microwave-absorbent plate to the material results in better temperature control.