magnetron

(noun)

A device in which electrons are made to resonate in a specially shaped chamber and thus produce microwave radiation; used in radar, and in microwave ovens.

Related Terms

Examples of magnetron in the following topics:

  • Examples and Applications

    • Cyclotrons, magnetrons, and mass spectrometers represent practical technological applications of electromagnetic fields.
    • We will explore some of these, including the cyclotron and synchrotron, cavity magnetron, and mass spectrometer.
    • The magnetron is a self-oscillating device requiring no external elements other than a power supply.
    • The magnetron has practical applications in radar, heating (as the primary component of a microwave oven), and lighting.
    • A cross-sectional diagram of a resonant cavity magnetron.

  • Microwaves

    • These devices operate on different principles from low-frequency vacuum tubes, using the ballistic motion of electrons in a vacuum under the influence of controlling electric or magnetic fields, and include the magnetron (used in microwave ovens), klystron, traveling-wave tube (TWT), and gyrotron.
    • Cutaway view inside a cavity magnetron as used in a microwave oven.