Tappan Model RL-1 Microwave Oven
date: label: date made
content: 1955
name: label: maker
content: Raytheon Manufacturing Co.
label: maker
content: Tappan
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Developed by Tappan in conjunction with Raytheon, the RL-1 was the first microwave oven designed for home use. Only 34 units were manufactured in 1955, the first year of production, due to a retail price of $1,295 and confusion among customers about how to use the new technology. RL-1 production ended in 1964. In time, people grew more comfortable with microwave cooking and prices dropped. When first introduced, microwave ovens were promoted as the wave of the future, the latest in modern electrical cooking. For the most part, that prediction proved correct. By 1976, a brand-new microwave oven cost less than $300 and people bought them for offices, dorm rooms and break rooms. By 2000, microwaves were found in 90 percent of U.S. households.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The same technology now used to make popcorn, defrost a roast, or reheat a casserole originated as a method of detecting ships and planes. In the 1920s, researchers discovered that invisible radio waves that could be reflected by a ship or airplane. Called radar for radio detection and ranging, several countries pushed the technology for early-warning systems, weather forecasting, and other uses.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Magnetrons were the key components that produced the radio waves, or microwaves, used in a radar. Radar played a major role during World War II, and Raytheon produced most of the magnetrons used by Allied forces. For the postwar world, Raytheon sought commercial uses for their successful product. Engineer Percy Spencer (1894–1970) suggested using magnetrons for heating food. Molecules in the food vibrated in response to the microwaves, generating plenty of heat for cooking. Raytheon’s first microwave oven, the Radarange, was bought by a Cleveland restaurant in 1947 for $3,000. Tappan became interested while building ovens for aircraft use, and licensed the technology from Raytheon.
label: Description (Brief)
content: This RL-1 was made in 1956 and incorporates several minor electrical upgrades based on experienced gained with the previous year’s initial production run. Although available for in-wall installation, this RL-1 has a steel casing for counter-top use. Four controls and two indicator lights are set above the glass-font door. A small drawer below the door contains a card file that contains about 400 recipes in 18 food categories. A glass tray inside can be adjusted, like the racks in a traditional oven.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
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content: Food
label: See more items in
content: FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000
label: Exhibition
content: Food: Transforming the American Table
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Frigidaire Company
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1991.0727.01
label: catalog number
content: 1991.0727.01
label: accession number
content: 1991.0727
objectType: label: Object Name
content: electrical appliance
label: Object Name
content: microwave oven
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 27 in x 24 in x 27 in; 68.58 cm x 60.96 cm x 68.58 cm