Mythbusting Science Vol. 1 (Part 2): Lightning, Glass Flow, and Microwave Radiation
Does lightning never strike twice? Is antique cathedral glass a slow-flowing liquid? Do microwaves make food radioactive? Three everyday science myths debunked.
We interact with physical phenomena every single day, yet many of our standard explanations are holdovers from Victorian folklore or misunderstood school lessons.
Here is the second installment of debunking everyday scientific myths.
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| DEBUNKING POPULAR PHYSICAL PHENOMENA |
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| 1. 'LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES THE SAME PLACE TWICE' |
| Fact: Tall structures are struck hundreds of times every year! |
| The Empire State Building is struck 25 to 100 times annually. |
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| 2. 'OLD CATHEDRAL WINDOW GLASS FLOWS DOWNHILL OVER CENTURIES' |
| Fact: Glass is an amorphous solid, NOT a slow liquid. |
| Thick bottoms resulted from medieval uneven cylinder glass-blowing! |
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| 3. 'MICROWAVE OVENS MAKE FOOD DANGEROUSLY RADIOACTIVE' |
| Fact: Microwaves are non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. |
| They simply wiggle water dipoles; they do not alter atomic nuclei! |
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Myth 1: Lightning Never Strikes Twice
Lightning follows the path of least electrostatic resistance.
- If a conductor (like a broadcast spire or metal skyscraper) provides the lowest dielectric resistance to the ground, lightning will strike that exact spot repeatedly within the same storm.
- NASA routinely records multiple lightning return strokes traveling up the exact same ionized plasma channel milliseconds apart!
Myth 2: Cathedral Glass Is Slowly Flowing Down
Tour guides often point out that ancient stained glass windows in European cathedrals are thicker at the bottom than the top, claiming glass is a liquid that flows down over centuries.
- Thermodynamics and material science prove that at room temperature, it would take billions of times the age of the universe for glass to flow perceptibly.
- Medieval glassblowers simply spun molten glass discs (crown glass) that were naturally thicker near the edge; glaziers installed them with the heavy end down for architectural stability!
Myth 3: Microwaves Alter Food Chemistry with "Radiation"
People hear the word "radiation" and confuse it with carcinogenic ionizing radiation (like gamma rays or X-rays).
- Microwave ovens emit photons at 2.45 GHz—a frequency with photon energies far too weak to knock electrons out of atoms or break DNA bonds.
- The radiation is tuned strictly to dielectric heating: rotating water molecules back and forth billions of times per second, generating harmless friction heat.