Too little of the electromagnetic spectrum is used in food preperation. Infrared, naturally; microwave, undoubtedly;--yet what of gamma rays? It is known that they can purify a green hamburger or some yellow water, but what of crunchy toast? A boiled egg? A piping-hot sausage? If these things are possible to the lowly infrared ray or microwave, how much more then will they be possible to a gamma ray.
I suggest a toaster oven that toasts while sanitizing with gamma radiation. This machine could be constructed using current technologies.-- Vance, Feb 07 2001 Sounds like a safe kitchen appliance to me.-- egnor, Feb 07 2001 Pete and Una seem to think that gamma rays make food radioactive. This is not the case. You are associating gamma rays with nuclear fallout, which contains radioactive elements as well as poisons.-- Vance, Feb 07 2001 I suggest not cobalt-60 but rather gold, paladium, platinum or some other heavy, inert, non-poisonous metal with an anti-mater feed. The annihilation of the matter/anti-matter would produce heat, light, and gamma radiation, perfect for toasting and purifying.-- Vance, Feb 08 2001 "Too little of the electromagnetic spectrum is used in food preperation."
So why stop with gamma radiation? Let's zap our food with the entire spectrum.-- phoenix, Jan 10 2002 I do need to upgrade my toaster-oven. My boring, non-gamma-ray toasteroven has a bad habit of catching on fire, setting chicken stripps on fire, and/or turn the bread on my cheese-toasted-sandwich into charcoal yet ot even melting the cheese. but it IS better than the OLD toaster. Try making the GammaToaster2000 talk, too.-- dr_photon, Mar 16 2002 It might be a bit safer to use high-power X-ray tubes in place a matter/anti-matter reaction or radio-isotope for the gamma-rays. It could at least be turned off.
But anyway, when can I buy one?-- Mr_Thundercleese, Mar 16 2002 Nah, I tried cooking with gamma radiation, now I have an 18 month old mackerel who you wouldn't like when he's angry-- dare99, Mar 16 2002 I like the idea! But what about those busy couples with too many kids and not enough time on their hands? Then consider the height of a typical kitchen countertop, relative to the average person. You could offer an unshielded version, makes perfect toast AND automatic birth control - what more could you ask of any household appliance!-- aspdesigner, Mar 16 2002 Wunderbar! I have to congratulate Vance on actually thinking of creative new uses for nuclear technology, despite the fact that it freaks everyone out (even scientists) for no good reason. Personally, I'd definitely buy this.
BTW, Gamma rays CAN cause some atoms (but only a few of them) to become radioactive. When certain isotopes of a few elements (I know there is a pattern, but I don't remember off the top of my head) absorb gamma radiation, it severely disturbs their electron configuration, and they are then called "m" or "charged isomeric" isotopes. These will decay either by releasing the energy in the form of new gamma rays (called "gamma resonance") or electron capture.
The good news is that this isn't very common .(EC has only been observed to occur this way 1 or 2 times.)-- clothist, Jan 14 2004 random, halfbakery