Physics: maximum power, part II

Tutoring physics, the everyday applications have spinoffs: the tutor continues about “maximum power.”

Following up on yesterday’s post, the challenge that developed was how to accomplish 800 Watts from the microwave.

From the Internet, the microwave’s maximum power seems to be 1200 Watts. The online manual goes on to say that one can set the power as a percentage of maximum: for instance, Power then 3 means 30% power.

70% of 1200 Watts is 840W, which is too much; the cautious choice is 60%, leading to 720W.

So, I put the warming pack on a plate, set in in the microwave, then set the power at 60% for 30 seconds. The bag was warm afterwards, but not hot.

I put the warming pack in the stuffed hippo and someone tried it out. They reported it was very comforting; the heat seemed to last for over an hour, anyway.