MAGNETRON - Teardown + How It Works - Dangerous!

I worked on radar systems since the mid-seventies in Marine aviation. I have had a basic understanding of magnetron operation all these years and even taught electronic theory as an instructor, but this was the clearest, most accurate description of what is truly happening, that I've ever heard. Thanks!

I was in tactical communications in the Army in the late 80's and early 90's and we used a 5 cavity tunable Klystron as our High Power Amplifier. All the basics are pretty much the same. You do a VERY good job of breaking this down and explaining this function. I really enjoyed this video. Thanks.

FINALLY. after about 20 videos, I find a good explanation of the cavity magnetron! Thank you. Whoever took the components & operation of a discrete LC circuit and recreated the effect in a solid lump of copper by just using geometry was a genius.....pure inspiration.

I was a US Navy electronics technician in the mid-60's so I feel I have a better-than-average understanding of the science. Your explanation of the principles behind the magetron are, by far, the best I've ever seen. I especially highlight your illustration of capacitive-magnetic resonance. You have done an excellent job!

Best description of how a cavity magnetron works I've ever seen. One thing to point out though "This could melt you from the inside out without you even knowing" You will feel burns from microwaves in the 2.4Ghz (yeah, microwave ovens use the same frequency as old WiFi) region, they vibrate water molecules so you will definitely notice the burning. Microwaves are used in crowd dispersion devices (higher frequencies, less penetration) because you can feel them and they hurt. The high voltage is a hazard, but a microwave isn't going to cause burns much more serious than a 2000 watt IR heater, especially at a distance. A microwave oven exploits the fact that the waves bounce and are close to the magnetron. If you turn it on outside the enclosure you're more likely to damage sensitive electronics as well as draw the wrath of whoever governs RF frequencies where you live than get badly burned.

Dont worry - an insulator of the RF output feeder is not made from beryllium oxide ceramic. Nobody, even Chinese, makes domestic equipment with it. This one is made from Al2O3 with a little manganese doping which defines its color. So yep, basically this is a technical ruby ceramic. Also you can do a simple test when in doubt of containing beryllium - just flash a 360-365 nm UV light on it: corundum ceramics will luminescence with deep red ruby-color and beryllium ceramic shows a weak purple luminescence. BTW, if anybody interests, the kitchen oven magnetron is just one of the big family - in other magnetron types, like pulsed for radar, coax-type, relativistic MILO or spatial-harmonics mode, the construction and electric field patterns are much more complex but working principle is close the same.

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Great video!!! You just taught more in 15 min than what I learned and understood out of a college introduction on Microwave Theory in the 80's!

Thank you! I have seen multiple explanations how a magnetron works in textbooks with drawings, but it makes much more sense for me seeing the inside of it. Also your explanation was better than my 100€ physics textbrick. It finally makes sense.

The electrons alone won't cause any radiation, even when you spin them by the magnet. What makes the microwave energy is the combination of the electrons moving aronund the cavities, forming a kind of "electron whistle" (the theory is a bit more complicated, but on some aspects the electron movement becomes somewhat similar to what the air does in the regular whistle). The high voltage combined with the magnets is use to make the electrons to move along the cavity tops to form that whistle, without the magnetic field they would just fly straight into the cavities, so no whistle.

I have always wanted to know how magnetrons work and this was incredibly comprehensive. Thank you

Your content is so good! Haven't seen all, but I watch most of your clips and often times you inspire me to do more and to try my own projects ❤️

Newer microwave no longer use brillium oxide so you're perfectly safe but it's the ceramic dust that you should be more caution about

I learned about them very long time ago and I was not sure about the concept but now everything is clear thanks man.

A warning about that few kV capasitor would be nice, since old ones might not be able to discharge themselfes on their own anymore (built-in resistor could burn out over time), so during disassembly it's always good to check by bridging the leads with some conductor with a good isolated grip/preferably on a stick.

one of the best videos actually explaining how a microwave funcitons! great stuff <3

dude, standing o. Been watching your channel for a while and your visuals and explanation game went exponential recently like 3B1B or Steve Mould or ElectroBOOM level. Keep up the great work.

Thank you for doing this video Andrei. Microwaves are something I've been curious about for some time. I really enjoy the animations you put into your explanations. I'm looking forward to the next video on this topic.

Excellent tutorial on how it works! Thanks! This if by far the best detailed illustrated explanation of how the magnetron works!

I worked in a reprocessing plant for electron RF vac tubes. From a very small 1.5Kw to a huge 357lb (with water jacket) 3.2 Gw vacuum tube and all sorts in between. I learned a lot. How electrons are emitted and controlled by electromagnet oscillation. This video was very informative and not overly technical. Thanks for a job well done.