What frequency is microwave?

Following international conventions, microwave ovens at home or in restaurants operate at frequencies of about 2.45 GHz , i.e. λ = 12. 23 cm. Figure 1 depicts a typical microwave oven (many details can be found in [1–3]). Microwaves are generated in a magnetron which feeds via a waveguide into the cooking chamber.

For WiFi this frequency happens to be 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. These waves are very similar to the frequency found in your microwave ! Your microwave uses 2.450Ghz to heat up food and your router uses 2.412 GHz to 2.472 GHz to transmit your data over WiFi.

“Microwave” frequencies are formally defined as those above 300 MHz (wavelengths less than 1 m), but informally we consider microwave frequencies as being above about 1 GHz .