It is not possible to effectively microwave canned food without removing the food from the can.
The canned food microwave has a waveguide assembly which clips over the top of the can with its lid removed. A portion of the waveguide may penetrate the contents. A mechanical stirrer may be necessary. Insert the can into the unit. Engage the waveguide. Push the start button. The contents of the can are automatically heated to the programmed temeperature.
Eat the food. Lick the spoon clean and put it back in your pocket. Throw the empty can away. Job done.-- 8th of 7, Sep 16 2002 microwave tricks http://margo.studen...te.nl/el/microwave/ [rbl, Sep 17 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004] off topic - neat little link to put "niggly" into context http://www.whom.co.uk/html/neumonic.htm [po, Sep 17 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004] Fired for saying "niggardly" http://www.adversit...ecial/niggardly.htm [FarmerJohn, Sep 17 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004] Thaksgiving in a can http://www.halfbake...ving_20in_20a_20canFor those who are impatient as well as lazy. [8th of 7, Sep 17 2002, last modified Oct 17 2004] Cheeseburger in a can http://gizmodo.com/...thing-ive-ever-seen [Mister P, Feb 13 2008] Gunn diode https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunn_diodeFascinating device [8th of 7, Oct 04 2020] I thought metal objects in a micro-wave oven produced arcing.-- po, Sep 16 2002 It's too much trouble to dump the contents of the can onto a plate, but you're willing to go through the convolutions of connecting a waveguide to the top after opening the can? Then what? Eat out of the can?-- phoenix, Sep 16 2002 - is that like Pot Noodle, bliss?
cook him a meal. he looks HUNGRY.
hey bliss, have you noticed how niggly people get when they are on a diet? there's an idea there somewhere.-- po, Sep 16 2002 While they are perhaps less common than they used to be, there are vending machines which keep canned food hot continuously. Insert money, pull the lever, grab a spoon (often kept in a box conveniently close to the machine), remove the top of the can, and proceed to eat a can of rotini-in-sauce, baked beans, or other such foodstuff.
Applying this principle to a home appliance shouldn't be difficult, and would have the advantage that one wouldn't have to wait for one's food to be warmed (unlike when using, e.g. a microwave). The question of whether to leave the food in the can would be up to the individual user.-- supercat, Sep 16 2002 link for blissy. no idea where that word originates.
just had a quick peek in the dictionary - niggle (noun) = small worry.-- po, Sep 17 2002 When we got our first microwave it came with a big warning about NOT microwaving eggs still in their shells...
Took us ages to clean all the egg out, fortunately the oven wasn't damaged. We was fascinated by the creaking, ticking noise the shells emit just before they rupture.
The idea is that the can itself forms the outer shell of the "oven" with the waveguide sealing onto the lid. It would work better with wide, low cans, like Heinz canned puddings (Aaaaahhhhhhhh .....).-- 8th of 7, Sep 17 2002 BinaryCookies seems big on canned turkey and suchlike, best ask him .....-- 8th of 7, Sep 17 2002 A question has been asked, "Could this device be used to re-heat the contents of an all-stainless-steel travel mug, the sort that's vacuum insulated ?"
The answer seems to be "There's no reason why not".
Actual experimentation may be imminent ...-- 8th of 7, Oct 04 2020 Hmm... how small & portable (& battery-powered...) could a magnetron be made?-- neutrinos_shadow, Oct 04 2020 For low-power applications, a Gunn diode <link> is the weapon of choice. It depends on what the task is.
Yes, magnetrons can be "battery-powered" if necessary (though inverter circuitry may be needed) but the two main applications are cooking (where the objectve is energy transfer) and Radar (where the inverse-X^4 characteristic engenders huge requirements for output power for modest increases in effective range).
So, "Yes, but it might need to be a BIG battery".-- 8th of 7, Oct 04 2020 "On-the-go" use case is probably limited to 3 or 4 usages daily, heating up coffee or soup or whatever else people put in their travel mug. Size should be similar to a large travel mug, which is a reasonable sized battery. Can microwaves be made to resonate in an enclosed chamber?-- neutrinos_shadow, Oct 05 2020 Some people actually get a bowl messy when the food is already in a can? What slobs!
One can put the (unopened) can in an electric kettle with enough water to cover. Run the kettle a few times. Write "this side towards enemy" below the ring-pull.-- spidermother, Oct 05 2020 Its not strictly necessary to warm the food before eating. Its just habit. You can easily train yourself to prefer cold beans or whatever tinned delicacy you prefer.-- pocmloc, Oct 05 2020 Correct. Some are actually better that way- "Vengeance is a dish best served cold" ...-- 8th of 7, Oct 05 2020 Is induction heating of the can itself energetically cheaper? An insulation slip could make sure heat goes inwards first.-- wjt, Oct 07 2020 The problem is more one of diffusion. The contents of most cans, when cold, tend to be fairly viscous, thus there's little or no convection- heat transfer is purely by conduction.
The issue was recognised with WW2 "Compo" tinned rations which were notorious for needing prolonged heating to become acceptable; the recommended procedure was to place the unopened tins in boiling water.
Induction heating will heat the can efficiently, but that heat will take time to spread through the bulk material, whereas microwaves do penetrate to a more useful depth.-- 8th of 7, Oct 07 2020 random, halfbakery