# Microwave cooking

This is just a little curiosity I've had, and I wonder what y'all think:

I am poaching a chicken egg in a small (about 4 in. diameter) glass dish in my microwave. Let's assume the microwave is set on a medium level of heat intensity that is held constant throughout heating (I'm not sure if that's a reasonable assumption).

Here's the quandary: suppose I run two separate experiments. In the first experiment, I poach a single egg in the microwave for some time, $$t$$. In the second experiment, I simultaneously poach two eggs (each in its own dish) for the same amount of time, $$t$$. The glass dishes are essentially identical.

Will the eggs in the two experiments reach the same temperature?

In practice, it seems that when there are two eggs (each in its own dish) being microwaved they each obtain a lower temperature than the single egg alone in the microwave. Is that an expected result?

• It is true for potatoes too, about 5 minutes per potato for baked ones in the microwave. It is because the energy provided by the microwaves is divided to the existing mass: waves absorbed by one are not available to the others. I've done up to 7 in a covered pyrex bowl. – anna v Nov 24 '18 at 18:25
• Interesting! That's what i thought, but I had a lingering doubt in my mind. Thank you, Anna – N. Steinle Nov 24 '18 at 19:21