It all started with two exciting experiments: An egg, that exploded in the microwave and a plasma ball that would almost have burned a hole into the microwave oven of our parents. Then we got our own microwave oven for our experiments.
We used our microwave oven for many physics experiments. We studied the field distribution inside the oven using low cost methods and created 3D maps of the interference pattern. We eventually succeeded in digitally recording plasma spectra of light bulbs and we found a significantly improved recording method for conventional spectra using a modern video camera. Furthermore, we also ignited plasmas outside light bulbs, which we caught in heat resistant glassware for further study.
