Luke Lively - 9-6-2016 at 14:24
Do any organic molecules degrade when put into a kitchen microwave? If so, what does it depend on? Specifically does caffeine or acetaminophen degrade
when heated in solution in a microwave?
Metacelsus - 9-6-2016 at 15:44
The microwaves themselves wouldn't cause degradation; they just heat the solution. Caffeine wouldn't degrade; you might get hydrolysis of
acetaminophen, depending on the pH of the solution.
PHILOU Zrealone - 11-6-2016 at 05:50
Depends also of the solvent some solvents heats much faster than others and of the % of solutant.
If you put plastic in the MW for a few minutes, it will melt...if more it may take fire and carbonize...just like you cake if you let it cook for 1/2
hour into the MW oven as if it was a conventional air pulsed oven.
You can thus reach very high T° especially with hard dry stuffs...typical example is the heating of a bottle of beer with a blow torch then microwave
it and the glas will melt where it was preheated (melting propagates as a hole first and then to the all beer bottle and create a very hot plasma)...
--> Don't do this into your mother's, grirlfriend's MW or you brand new MW...