Percy Spencer (1894-1970) was an important 20th century American engineer and inventor, recognized for being the inventor of the microwave oven. It also made the manufacture of magnetrons, the main mechanism of radar, more efficient. In total, he obtained more than 300 patents and received various recognitions throughout his life.
For his work to increase magnetron production during World War II and his accidental and historic discovery of the microwave oven, Spencer received multiple awards.
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In 1945, while working on testing a working magnetron, he noticed that a chocolate in his pocket had melted. He then tried popcorn and it was from these observations that he developed the first microwave.
In 1947 the first commercial oven was sold by the Raytheon company. Acceptance was slow at first but later it became popular to become one of the main elements of kitchens as it is today.
Biography
Percy Lebaron Spencer was born in Howland, Maine, in 1894. His father passed away and his mother abandoned him shortly after, so he was raised by his uncles. At the age of 7 his uncle passed away, so he became the head of the family at a young age. He dropped out of primary school at age 12 to work in a textile factory.
He had three children: James, John and George along with his wife Louise. After the war, he continued to work at Raytheon as a senior consultant until his last days. He died on September 8, 1970 at the age of 77 in Newton, Massachusetts.
the beginning
He was a very curious child, so he tried to learn electricity in a self-taught way. He established a new electrical system at a local paper mill. At age 18 he joined the United States Navy as a radio operator and learned about wireless technology. During that time he became interested in calculus, metallurgy, physics, chemistry, and trigonometry.
He was an expert in the design of radar tubes, so after World War I he joined the American Appliance Company in Cambridge, which would later become the Raytheon Company.
During his time as head of one of the divisions, his experience helped him win a major government contract to produce magnetrons, vital during WWII.
In fact, the division expanded from 15 to 5,000 employees and its mass production system allowed to increase production from 17 to 2,600 per day.
Recognitions
For his work with magnetrons he earned the United States Navy Distinguished Public Service Award and became a senior member of the Raytheon Board of Directors.
His other awards also include a membership in the Institute of Radio Engineers, recognition in the National Hall of Fame for Inventors, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Scholarship, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Massachusetts. Also a building was named in his honor.
Contributions
Magnetron
The first magnetron tube was invented by Albert Hull in 1920. Later, John Randall and Harry Boot created the modern version in 1940. Its high power made radar possible, however, during the postwar period its use in this field was less and less.
In 1939 Spencer was appointed head of Raytheon's power division and obtained a multi-million dollar contract with the government for the production of military radars.
During World War II, he stood out for improving the design of radars and innovating in his production techniques, with manufacturing by punching and welding instead of machined parts.
The magnetron is the invention that precedes the microwave. Although his invention predates Spencer's intervention, it was he who industrialized its production.
Today, Spencer's discoveries are still used as a starting point for research in radar and magnetron technologies. Microwave lengths are even used to monitor weather conditions via satellites and sea level monitoring.
The microwave
The invention was totally accidental. One day while Spencer was working at the plant, she noticed how a chocolate that she carried in her pocket melted.
While others had already experienced something similar when in the presence of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation, he was the only one who was encouraged to continue investigating on the subject. Then he did the experiment with popcorn and an egg in a skillet.
Realizing that electromagnetic waves could actually be used to cook food, Spencer designed a metal box with an opening for magnetron radiation. Later the team improved the prototype and in 1945 filed a patent with Raytheon for RadarRange.
The first microwave
In 1947 the first commercially manufactured microwave was produced. He stood between five and six feet tall and weighed around 750 pounds. It was priced between $ 2,000 and $ 3,000.
Initially it was used in restaurants and boats as they were places where large amounts of food had to be cooked at the same time. They were also too large and expensive for household use. This first model also had other problems, such as difficulties in cooking the meat.
The first home oven came on the market in 1955, cost almost $ 1,300 and was too large for an average kitchen. After several investigations and thanks to the development in Japan of a smaller magnetron, the first truly practical microwave for home use was developed in 1967, it was small enough to fit on the kitchen counter and cost $ 495.
It took a while for the public to accept the microwave oven as a new cooking method, but by the time of Spencer's death they had already become one of the staples of American kitchens.
In 1975, most of the myths and legends that haunted the new appliance had disappeared and for the first time its sales exceeded those of the gas oven.
Today the microwave is one of the best known and most used appliances in the kitchens of the world. Scientists continue to develop them and add more attributions.
References
- Percy Spencer Microwave Inventor-Inventor's stories. Excerpted from Smithsonian National Museum of History. americanhistory.si.edu.
- Percy Spencer Profile. Excerpted from the Atomic Heritage Foundation. atomicheritage.org.
- Percy L. Spencer. Excerpted from the National Inventors Hall of Fame. invent.org.
- Murray, Don. Percy Spencer and His Itch to Know. Reader's Digest, 1958
- Ross, Rachel. Who Invented the Microwave Oven? Live Science. 2017
- Smith, Andrew F. Eating History-30 Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine. New York. Columbia University Press. 2009.