Microwaving Water

[GameHauler]

 

 

Microwaving Water!

 

 

A 26-year old man decided to have a cup of coffee. He took a cup of water and put it in the microwave to heat it up (something that he had done numerous times before). I am not sure how long he set the timer for, but he wanted to bring the water to a boil. When the timer shut the oven off, he removed the cup from the oven. As he looked into the cup, he noted that the! water was not boiling, but suddenly the water in the cup "blew up" into his face. The cup remained intact until he threw it out of h is hand, but all the water had flown out into his face due to the build up of energy. His whole face is blistered and he has 1st and 2nd degree burns to his face which may leave scarring.

 

He also may have lost partial sight in his left eye. While at the hospital, the doctor who was attending to him stated that this is a fairly common occurrence and water (alone) should never be heated in a microwave oven. If water is heated in this manner, something should be placed in the cup to diffuse the energy such as a wooden stir stick, tea bag, etc., (nothing metal).

 

It is however a much safer choice to boil the water in a tea kettle.

 

 

General Electric's Response:

 

Thanks for contacting us, I will be happy to assist you. The e-mail that you received is correct. Microwaved water and other liquids do not always bubble when they reach the boiling point. They can actually get superheated and not bubble at all. The superheated liquid will bubble up out of the cup when it is moved or when something like a spoon or tea bag is put into it

 

To prevent this from happening and causing injury, do not heat any liquid for more than two minutes per cup After heating , let the cup stand in the microwave for thirty seconds before moving it or adding anything into it.

 

Here is what our local science teacher had to say on the matter: "Thanks for the microwave warning. I have seen this happen before. It is caused by a phenomenon known as super heating. It can occur anytime water is heated and will particularly occur if the vessel that the water is heated in is new, or when heating a small amount of water (less than half a cup).

 

What happens is that the water heats faster than the vapor bubbles can form. If the cup is very new then it is unlikely to have small surface scratches inside it that provide a place for the bubbles to form. As the bubbles cannot form and release some of the heat has built up, the liquid does not boil, and the liquid conti nues to heat up well past its boiling point.

 

What then usually happens is that the liquid is bumped or jarred, which is just enough of a shock to cause the bubbles to rapidly form and expel the hot liquid. The rapid formation of bubbles is also why a carbonated beverage spews when opened after having been shaken."

If you pass this on you could very well save someone from a lot of pain and suffering.

 

 

[TwoGuns]

I saw the Mythbusters look into this phenomenon on one of their shows. They built a super microwave that boiled a cup of water in like 20 seconds or something like that, so that they could heat the water really quickly. If I remember right, the water always boiled if it was tap water, but if you use bottled water or purified water, it might not boil, and then can explode. What they said was that water has to have impurities to boil, and that purified water wont boil until something is added to it, like a powder or tea bag or instant coffee, and then can explode.

 

I dont know if they were right, but that is what they found....if my memory is working tonight.

 

twoguns

[Diamondbackaz]

But rare http://www.snopes.com/science/microwave.asp

 

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa011900b.htm

[iwannakillsomething]

my aunt had that happen to her when she boiled disteled (sp) water on the stove! she put a spoon in to stur it and it blew up, she got 2nd and 3rd burns all over