Would any of that really make it heat more efficiently though? You'd need at least two magnetrons, some sort of computer vision system, and a computer to do the necessary calculations. Even if you could practically produce an interference pattern that's better than a single standing wave, I suspect you'd lose more energy than you save.
BluesF
I'm happy to accept that I was wrong, in fact this is a very interesting bit of technology! I didn't intend to be rude, unlike you, clearly.
I'd also like to add that beamforming, despite the name, does not actually involve creating a directed beam. As I described the antenna still sends a signal out in all directions - multiple antennae work together to create an interference pattern with a stronger signal where a device is located. While I wasn't aware of this technology, it is not as "directed" as the name implies and wouldn't necessarily have applications inside a microwave oven, especially since the wavelengths used are pretty long, so I don't think they would not have much flexibility to create the kind of precise pattern that cooking something while skipping the empty space would require.
~~Scots isn't just an accent, it's a language in its own right.~~
~~Although honestly I'm not sure how much of this is Scots and how much is just specific to Scottish twitter lol~~
So actually having done some more reading this isn't Scots - I'm fairly sure this is Scottish English which is somewhat a merging of Scots with English.
No, the title is poorly worded. They are testing a technology that could redirect an asteroid, there isn't one that is currently a concern.