India, Sept. 11 -- We all know that stainless steel utensils, or metal objects in general, including cutlery, should never be placed inside a microwave oven while operational. Today's everyday explained explores the reason behind the warning.

To understand why we should not be putting metal inside a microwave oven, we first need to know how the appliance works. Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation, like radio waves, but with shorter wavelengths and higher frequencies.

According to Caroline A. Ross, a professor in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a microwave oven generates microwaves by a device called a magnetron, and they are made to pulse back and for...