Zap it. Nuke it. There are a million ways we describe using the microwave (and probably a million and one different things we use it for). It’s hard to imagine daily life without the trusty microwave, but it is a rather recent innovation.
Interestingly, the microwave was invented by accident, thanks to an engineer named Dr. Perry Spencer (and the Mr. Goodbar candy bar he carried in his shirt pocket). Dr. Spencer and his colleagues at Raytheon were testing a magnetron – a radar device that was originally used in WWII to detect weaponry – when he noticed that the candy bar he had in his pocket had inexplicably melted. His curiosity piqued, Dr. Spencer tried placing some unpopped popcorn kernels near the magnetron. The result? As you might guess, he first food ever cooked using a microwave was, not surprisingly, popcorn.
So when you’re ready to zap, nuke or otherwise microwave your dinner, remember that we’ve got microwaves of all kinds: household (look under Appliances) & commercial (find them under Restaurant Equipment).