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From: hollombe@ttidca.TTI.COM (The Polymath)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Nuking a lit cigarette
Message-ID: <8451@ttidca.TTI.COM>
Date: 13 Dec 89 19:59:41 GMT
References: <7224@hubcap.clemson.edu> <2575E75B.11408@paris.ics.uci.edu> <128772@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <24756@cup.portal.com> <129144@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcb.tti.com (The Polymath)
Distribution: na
Organization: The Cat Factory
Lines: 29

In article <129144@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> landauer@sun.UUCP (Doug Landauer) writes:
}
}> >P.S. ... ever tried to microwave a lit cigarette?
}>
}> ... besides permanently contaminating my microwave, just what
}> *does* happen if I try zapping a lit cigarette????

}... the microwave buzzed real loud, and there was a moving, flickering
}light in the air inside the oven.  ...
}
}The best part was that flickering light -- it looked like lightning in
}there.  ...

This is a pretty good description of the phenomenon of arcing.  Most older
microwave ovens, and some new ones, will do this if a metal object is
placed inside.  Apparently a burning object has a similar effect --
probably something to do with ionized particles acting as conductors.  It
is detrimental to the health of the oven.

I got the same effect once by putting my ACM coffee cup into the MW oven
at work.  I didn't realize the trim around the logo was Real(tm) gold.
The resulting arcs burned several sections of the trim off before I could
stop the oven.

-- 
The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, hollombe@ttidca.tti.com)  Illegitimis non
Citicorp(+)TTI                                                 Carborundum
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.   (213) 450-9111, x2483
Santa Monica, CA  90405 {csun | philabs | psivax}!ttidca!hollombe