Waveguides: Feynman's Physics Explained
To send high-frequency waves like microwaves from place to place you cannot just use wires — they would act as antennas and radiate the energy away. Instead you use a hollow metal pipe, a waveguide, where the waves bounce along the conducting walls. A waveguide only carries waves above a certain cutoff frequency set by its size; below that, waves quickly die out. Waveguides are the 'plumbing' of microwave engineering.
The big idea
Hollow metal pipes can carry microwaves like plumbing carries water.
Think about it
Why would an ordinary wire be a poor way to carry microwave energy across a room?
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