The microwave oven uses a magnetron. This is similar to a radio transmitter. It makes very short radio waves which go into the food to a depth of about 2.5cm (one inch). This makes water molecules twist about 2.5 billion times a second. This heats up the molecules around it. As they heat up the heat goes to the inside of the food. This process is called conduction. This also happens in a normal oven, but microwave energy goes deeper so that the food cooks much faster. In an ordinary oven the energy stays mostly near the surface, so it takes more time.