The technology behind the microwave oven was developed during World War II, At the time, the U.S and British militaries engineered the magnetron, which was the result of research conducted on radio transmission and radar detection. The magnetron produced much smaller radio waves, known as microwaves, and was small and powerful enough to be used in airplanes. Its detection capabilities helped solve the problem of aerial bombing accuracy.

Microwave's ability to heat food was discovered accidentally after the war in 1945. Percy Lebaron Spencer, who worked for defense contractor Raytheon at the time, realized that radar waves had melted a candy bar in his pocket at work one day. Raytheon produced the first commercially available microwave oven in 1954. Today, microwaves are used in a variety of applications, including detecting speed, sending telephone and television communications, curing plywood, treating muscle pains, and of course in microwave ovens in kitchens around the world.