This happens very rapidly,and over and over again, never allowing enough heat to pass through the clothes. So, if you are experiencing long dry times, take a look at your venting. If the venting is inaccessible, go out to where it exits your home. With the dryer running you should feel a good air flow and some heat. I'm going to nuke dinner tonight.
Microwave ovens have nothing to do with nuclear radiation.
Microwave energy is actually a high frequency radio wave, in the same spectrum as radar. Usually around restaurants, which use commercial high powered microwaves, you will see signs warning about pacemakers being used in the area. The reason for this is that the radio waves which are emitted, slightly from the microwaves in use, could interfere with the operation of a heart pacemaker. Nowadays this is very uncommon, as pacemakers are shielded much better to protect them from this potential hazard. The high frequency waves cause the molecules in the food to rub against each other.