The inventor of the microwave appliance received only $2 for his discovery. Percy Spencer was working as a researcher for American Appliance Company (now Raytheon) when he noticed that a radar set using electromagnetic waves melted the candy bar in his pocket. He had the idea to make a metal box using microwaves to heat food, but the company was the one to file the patent. That was in 1945, and he received a $2 bonus but never any royalties.
100 Mind-Blowing Electromagnetic Facts
The person who proved the existence of radio waves thought they were completely pointless. Between 1886 and 1889, Heinrich Hertz did a series of intricate tests that proved the existence of a previously theoretical form of wave – electromagnetic waves. When asked about the practical uses, he responded, “It’s of no use whatsoever[…] this is just an experiment that proves Maestro Maxwell was right—we just have these mysterious electromagnetic waves that we cannot see with the naked eye. But they are there.” Hertz’s name is now used to indicate the various degrees of electromagnetic frequency despite calling them pointless.
General Motors made the first self-driving car model. Elon Musk wasn’t the brain behind autonomous cars. In 1939, General Motors was able to create a model for a self-driving car that relies on electromagnetic fields and magnetized spikes on the roads.