Specifications

Ver SG 9/200 3 Sharp Electronics Corporation
Radiant waves are characterized by their wavelength and their frequency of vibration
(number of complete cycles per second)
[Cycle is the change of an alternating waveform from zero to the most positive peak,
back to zero, to the most negative peak and back to zero.]
Wavelength x frequency / the speed of light frequency
1 cycle per second = 1 Hertz
1,000 cycles per second = 1 Kilohertz
1,000,000 cycles per second = 1 Megahertz
Thus as the frequency increases the wavelength becomes shorter.
Microwaves vibrate millions of times per second (that is, they have a very high
frequency) and are, therefore, very short waves, hence the term microwaves.
There are two microwave frequencies in general use for microwave ovens:
• 915 MHz (wavelength is 32 cm or about 12.5”)
• 2450 MHz (wavelength is 12 cm or about 5”)
These are two of the frequencies allocated by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) for Industrial, Scientific and Medical Use (sometimes called the ISM frequencies).
The term MHz stands for megahertz and means millions of cycles per second. The term
hertz is used to honor Heinrich Hertz, a German physicist who succeeded in producing
and detecting electromagnetic waves, which were later called Hertzian waves.