Percy Spencer wondered why the candy bar in his pocket had melted.
It was the early 1940s, and as an expert in radar tube design, Spencer was working for Raytheon. During the critical years of WW II his team was responsible for building the magnetrons vital to combat radar equipment. Spencer’s innovations in magnetron production enabled the US to increase magnetron production from 17 per day to 2,600.
In what is now lore, Spencer was standing in front of an active radar set when a candy bar he had in his pocket melted. This insight, and what he did next, led to the microwave ovens that changed the American kitchen.
Here’s the key statement from the Wikipedia article about Spencer: “Spencer was not the first to notice this phenomenon, but he was the first to investigate it.”
He experimented with popcorn kernels (microwave popcorn!) and an egg (which exploded in the face of one of the observing scientists).
I have written earlier about Abraham Lincoln making a similar observation about the importance of observing new phenomena – in that case, about the connection between the fluttering lid of a teapot and harnessing of steam power for trains. The key often isn’t about noticing something, but is about the next step you take after that.
Here are some other interesting tidbits about Percy Spencer that may amaze you as much as they amazed me …
- His Dad died when he was eighteen and his Mom left him. He was raised by an aunt and uncle until his uncle died when Percy was seven years old.
- He left grammar school to get a job to support himself and his aunt. Between the ages of twelve and sixteen, he worked “from sunrise to sunset at a spool mill”.
- He learned that a local paper mill was using electricity – a new phenomenon at the time in his rural Maine environment. He learned as much as he could about electricity on his own, applied to the mill, and without any formal training in electrical engineering, much less a grammar school education, he was hired as one of three people installing electricity in the mill.
- He joined the Navy, became interested in wireless radio communications, and taught himself trigonometry, calculus, chemistry, metallurgy, physics and chemistry.
- He learned about radio technology while in the Navy in the same self-taught manner. Spencer later said “I just got hold of a lot of textbooks and taught myself while I was standing watch at night.”
- Raytheon patented his microwave design. For this, Spencer was paid the same bonus all Raytheon engineers were paid when one of their discoveries led to a patent: two dollars.
The next time you’re standing in front of a microwave waiting for your food, think about the greatness of a destitute orphan who survived, worked, learned, observed, and innovated his way into your life.
Innovation isn’t just about the making an observation. It is also about taking the next step – something to consider next time you warm up your coffee or make your instant oatmeal.
Good luck!