# Odd result when microwaving.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-result-when-microwaving/781459>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 5, 2017, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-result-when-microwaving/781459 "2017-03-05T04:59:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-result-when-microwaving/781459/1 "2017-03-05T04:59:39Z")

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This just popped back in my head after many years.  
I used to work in a restaurant. I often had to microwave frozen peas.  
I would empty the bag of peas into a plastic pail partially filled with water. The peas would be floating separately in the water.

After microwaving for a period of time that was not long enough to fully finish thawing them. Most of the peas would have clumped into a ball of ice surrounded by liquid water. Seemed an odd result. Start with separate frozen peas in liquid water. Add energy and get frozen peas in a clump of frozen water. As if the cold had been concentrated to the center area. Which doesn’t seem to make sense.

Any explanations?

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**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-result-when-microwaving/781459/2 "2017-03-05T08:21:39Z")

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But the same result if you just put the peas into the water and left it.  
The microwaves just warmed the top of the water up a bit.

The water at the bottom was cooled by the peas.