The History of Microwave Oven.

The History of Microwave Oven.

Mircowave oven is a norm today. The dull halogen light. The spinning glass plate. The humming that terminates in a “BEEP.” It's an immediately familiar to most of us. This is the way we cook today.

The microwave technology is beloved for its speed and ease of use. But what you might not know about this indispensable kitchen appliance is when and how the microwave was invented.

Percy Spencer

The true story is that it was invented utterly by accident one fateful day more than 70 years ago, when a Raytheon engineer named Percy Spencer was testing a military-grade magnetron (to improve the power level of the magnetron tubes to be used in radar sets) and suddenly realized his peanut cluster bar snack had melted. It was on that fateful day in 1946, things happen by accident.

A radar magnetron is a sort of electric whistle that, instead of creating vibrating sound, creates vibrating electromagnetic waves. 

In 1947, just a year after Spencer’s snack food serendipity, the first commercial microwave oven hit the market. Called the “Radarange,” it weighed nearly 750 pounds and cost more than $2,000. Needless to say, it wasn’t a big seller. The first domestic microwave was introduced in 1955, but it too failed to launch because it was expensive and because microwave technology was still an unknown. 

It wasn’t until 1967, two decades after its invention, that the microwave oven finally caught on in American homes in the form of Amana’s compact “Radarange.” By 1975, a million microwaves were sold every year.

National Mental Health Center of Excellence

Malaysia has developed National Mental Health Center of Excellence. Its establishment will enable better management of mental health care programs, in addition to streamlining the efforts of the government and stakeholders including non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

However, it is important to ensure that everyone who needs mental health care is not left behind. Therefore, it is hoped that the government will be able to ensure sufficient allocation for the implementation and management of the center.

There needs to be long-term investment in training more mental health professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and social workers. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a ratio of one psychiatrist for every 10,000 inhabitants, but there are fewer than 500 psychiatrists in the country today.

Currently, for only a minimal fee one can get psychiatric treatment from public hospitals as well as some health clinics. However, with the public mental health care system burdened with high patient volumes, waiting times can be a challenge for some. Low-income groups may be more vulnerable to mental health issues due to challenges such as economic and financial difficulties.

Based on the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019, depression among the B40 income group was the highest, at 2.7 percent. They may not be able to afford hospital or private clinic treatment. This factor is why the government may need to consider subsidizing them to seek treatment in a private environment. This is to minimize the waiting time, thus avoiding the depression faced from getting worse.

Those with mental disorders are at higher risk of dying by suicide. However, it does not mean that those who do not have a mental disorder do not feel suicidal. So to design effective suicide prevention initiatives, supporting data is needed. The data is useful in planning effective and targeted suicide prevention strategies and policies.

In fact, good mental well-being needs to be nurtured from childhood. Adolescence is a phase of change and adaptation, which means they cannot run away from life's challenges. NHMS 2019 found 424,000 children with mental health problems. In 2021, more than 11 percent of those who contact Befrienders KL for emotional support are under the age of 20.

Mental health literacy

According to the WHO, half of all mental disorders begin by the age of 14 and three-quarters by the mid-20s. Therefore, mental health literacy should be introduced to school children.

Knowledge about mental well-being including symptoms, aspects of self-care, resilience, problem-solving skills, healthy communication and interaction, including on social media can be conveyed to school-going children. This is to encourage them to seek help.

Therefore, it is very important to have qualified and trained counselors in schools. They are able to provide support and intervention to students in need. Non-teaching staff should be equipped with basic skills in emotional support to be able to recognize students with mental health problems.

In addition, the role of Peer Counselors (PC) is important because some students find it easier to talk with their peers. These people play an important role in connecting students in distress with the counseling services available at school.

Mental health awareness programs need to be developed for parents as well. Parents need to create a safe environment at home for their children to talk openly about their struggles. Knowing when and where to seek professional help can prevent the onset of mental disorders.

Stress at work can also be a cause of mental health problems. So a safe and mentally healthy work environment is important for employee well-being.

Nvidia Graphic Cards : GeForce RTX 4080 and RTX 4090

Nvidia has unveiled a pair of new graphics cards, the GeForce RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, which feature the company’s next-generation Ada Lovelace architecture. This new GPU architecture promises to be more efficient than previous generations while taking big steps forward in performance and AI-powered graphics.

The cards feature 76 billion transistors, which allows them to deliver better performance in a more efficient package. It also supports an upgraded version of Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling, or DLSS, which uses artificial intelligence to enhance specific games’ fidelity and performance.

RTX 4090 will offer up to “four times the performance” of its current top-of-the-line GPU, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. The new GPU will consume the same 450W of electricity as Nvidia’s high-end 30-series graphics cards.

The GeForce RTX 4090 features a monstrous 24GB of GDDR6X memory, along with 16,384 CUDA cores (up from the 3090’s 10,496 CUDA cores) and a base clock of 2.23GHz that you can overclock to 2.52GHz. It also has 1,321 Tensor-TFLOPS, 191 RT-TFLOPS, and 83 Shader-TFLOPS, allowing you to enjoy games that offer more advanced graphics and artificial intelligence.

The 12GB GDDR6X GeForce RTX 4080 features 7,680 CUDA Cores, a base clock of 2.31GHz that boosts up to 2.61GHz, 639 Tensor-TFLOPS, 92 RT-TFLOPS, and 40 Shader-TFLOPS. 

The 16GB GDDR6X GeForce RTX 4080 features 9,728 CUDA cores, a base clock of 2.21GHz that boosts up to 2.51GHz, 780 Tensor-TFLOPS, 113 RT-TFLOPS, and 49 Shader-TFLOPS of power.