With the transformation of science and technology, home appliances have also ushered in a new round of upgrading. If everyone now has a TV, washing machine, refrigerator and other familiar electrical appliances, then today's technological progress has also brought convenience to other aspects of life.
The microwave oven, which can heat meals in a few seconds, is also a dark horse, once selling more than 100 million yuan a year and occupying a place in the home appliance market. Who would have thought that this was just a momentary glory, and since then it has gone downhill, and why it lost so badly in this fierce home appliance war is really curious.
First, the production of microwave ovens - the road to birth
When it comes to microwave ovens, it is necessary to introduce its invention history, which was discovered by spencer, an engineer of Raytheon, by chance and an experimental discovery. He was visiting a laboratory that tested magnetrons when the sudden melting of chocolate in his pocket caught his attention, which he thought was caused by hyperthermia, but then found out that it was the role of the magnetron.
Later, to further explain this miraculous phenomenon, he did another experiment. He asked his assistant to prepare a pack of popcorn, place it next to the magnetron, and the popcorn exploded. After that, a kettle with a hole in the side was prepared, the raw eggs were put into the pot, and the magnetron was pointed at the small hole, and it was conceivable that the eggs were fried due to being cooked. It is possible to cook food in microwaves.
Thus, in 1946 Raytheon introduced the first microwave oven, the Radarange, specifically for restaurants and aircraft heating meals. It is a floor-to-ceiling commercial microwave oven, itself is very heavy, the installation is also very complicated, occupies a large area, the price is also very expensive, so it was not popular at that time. However, with the advancement of science and technology, microwave ovens began to become small and lightweight, and the price was moderate, becoming a convenient home appliance that every household could afford.
Second, the glory of the microwave oven - all the rage
A few years ago, the microwave oven was definitely a "shoulder handle" in the home appliance industry, if there is no microwave oven in the new house, it is not considered to have been renovated, which shows its popularity. The overwhelming advertising campaign has brought huge traffic to the microwave oven, coupled with its practical and multi-functional, affordable price, the microwave oven soon opened the door of every household and was welcomed into the homes of ordinary people.
Microwave ovens have become popular in large part thanks to their powerful and many functions. First of all, the microwave oven can well preserve the nutritional value of the food itself. Because the principle of the microwave oven is to absorb microwave energy to heat food, the use of such special heating methods, for green vegetables, you can better not lose nutrients at the same time, so that green vegetables can maintain fresh and beautiful emerald green, retain the original taste of the food itself, can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
Secondly, it can also effectively shorten the cooking time, leaving office workers and mothers with free time to do more things. Not only in terms of heating dishes, but also in terms of thawing some frozen food, reducing the time of thawing; if it is waiting for it to thaw itself under natural conditions, it will waste a lot of time, put it in the microwave oven, it only takes a few minutes, and it will not delay the subsequent cooking, bringing more convenience.
In addition, the microwave oven has other more convenient features. For example, it can dry some food, make some sweet and sour dried fruits and delicious dried meat, and can also dry hand-copied nuts and the like. On the other hand, the microwave oven can also play a role in sterilization and disinfection, and putting the dishes and chopsticks can effectively avoid bacterial infection, which is simply a multi-purpose, all-round convenience.
However, although the function of the microwave oven is so changeable, the sales of the microwave oven in the first quarter of 2021 of 28.3 have decreased by 15.7% year-on-year, and it is obvious that the microwave oven is going downhill and has already lost the home appliance war. If no changes are made, sooner or later they will be eliminated.
Third, the decline of the microwave oven - rumors are everywhere, updated
The microwave oven lost the home appliance war and withdrew from the "stage" early, and the most absurd thing is nothing more than a "rumor" - the food made by the microwave oven will have radiation, and may even cause cancer, which will seriously damage human health. But this is nonsense, the microwave oven is really blacked by this wave of "brainless black", resulting in a sharp decline in sales.
In terms of heating principle, it is only the electromagnetic waves generated by the magnetron that form a magnetic field, so that the high-frequency vibration of the nutrients in the food is generated by friction. Essentially no different from physical heating, it does not change the composition of the food itself at all, let alone produce new substances.
Moreover, modern life will more or less produce radiation, which is still very different from high radiation that can cause harm to the body. In essence, microwave ovens can cause harm to the human body, but qualified microwave oven products will not leak microwaves, unless they are fake and inferior products.
There is also an outrageous statement that the microwave oven will let plastic products release toxic substances, but the plastic products themselves are not resistant to high temperatures, and it is more common sense that hot water will produce toxic substances, and how to put plastic products into the microwave oven. This shouldn't have happened in the first place, let alone the follow-up questions.
Removing these rumors, the microwave oven itself still has many safety hazards, and complex taboos have also dissuaded many people who want to buy it. There are many things that can not be put into the microwave oven to heat, such as some with shells, with skins to be careful, such food put in the inside and outside at the same time, the inside will expand easy to cause explosions; there are also salt ions of the fruit is not OK, such as strawberries, blueberries, grapes and the like, do desserts to avoid this kind of fruit into.
Boiling water is not very good, although the temperature can be high, but in fact, the internal pressure is insufficient, once the cup is taken out of the microwave oven, the water in the cup may accelerate boiling, resulting in a very dangerous explosion.
There are so many taboos, some people feel troublesome and simply let it fall to ashes, and even do not consider buying at all.
And now, people advocate less oil and less salt healthy diet, many young people also believe that no oil low calorie, zero sucrose can maintain a good figure, "air fryer" has since come into being. "Oilless frying" has attracted the attention of a large number of people who want to eat fried food and are afraid of getting fat, which can not only satisfy the appetite, but also eat a healthy diet, why not enjoy it?
Compared with the microwave oven, the air fryer is also very versatile, now many people on the Internet will send out air fryer gourmet recipes, simple and delicious, another wave of air fryer sales, and its appearance is also more small and beautiful, the price is also very affordable. In this way, the microwave oven defeated the air fryer, which is also a rising star.
summary
It can be seen that the failure of the microwave oven in this home appliance war is inevitable, and making changes is the right approach. We should first find a way to dispel rumors from the source, and experts can be invited to popularize science to the majority of users, calling on everyone not to believe in rumors and not to spread rumors.
In terms of appearance, it is also possible to make innovations, not immutable rectangles; in terms of function, it is also possible to introduce some new tricks, like the air fryer "oil-free cooking", using an irreplaceable feature to reopen new markets.
It has also been brilliant, enough to prove that the microwave oven is powerful, failure is not terrible, and not being able to stand up and stagnating is the most terrible. From now on, take the first step, fight a beautiful turnaround battle, after all, no one can say for sure in the future, right? Finally, I would like to ask you, what do you think of microwave ovens? Do you think the microwave works well?