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RandomFactor writes:

Aaron Slepkov, a Trent University physics professor, has published a paper describing why grapes spark when heated in a microwave.

The team found that a microwave -- with a wavelength of 12 centimetres in air -- is the exact same size of a grape in water due to what's known as water's high index of refraction, Slepkov explained. That's when something interesting happens, he said.

Microwaves accumulate and become trapped inside the grape, he said, and those light microwaves pack themselves in the centre and the grape begins to heat up. When a second grape comes in, or the other half of a cut grape, the microwaves concentrate at the sides near each other creating an intense electrical field.

The electric field becomes so high, he said, that it begins stripping electrons off sodium and potassium molecules, creating ions.

"Once you have an ion of sodium or potassium, then all hell breaks loose and the rest of microwave oven is feeding that spark, ionizing the air and turning it into ball lightning," he said.

Professor Slepkov pointed out that there are potential applications in antena design for cellphones or wireless routers:

"We're hypothesizing maybe you can change antenna design because the grapes are acting as a concentrator for wireless radiation or cellphone radiation -- effecting how we design antennas to help act as a signal booster," he said.

I suppose such a product could be considered a grape concentrator.

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