Dangerous..Worth a read - Printable Version +- Forums (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards) +-- Forum: The Firing Line (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Combat Mission (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=10) +--- Thread: Dangerous..Worth a read (/showthread.php?tid=41086)

Dangerous..Worth a read - Hedgehog - 06-21-2007 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 his 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 that has built up, the liquid does not boil, and the liquid continues 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. RE: Dangerous..Worth a read - British Tommy - 06-21-2007 Ye Gods! I'm using the kettle from now on! :rolleyes: RE: Dangerous..Worth a read - Nort - 06-21-2007 Yikes. That does it. From now on, I will have Bootie check my nuker. ;) RE: Dangerous..Worth a read - PoorOldSpike - 06-21-2007 COFFEE ANYONE? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOg5jzini0 RE: Dangerous..Worth a read - Extraordinarius - 06-21-2007 RE: Dangerous..Worth a read - Mike Abberton - 06-22-2007 I believe that purity of the water has something to do with it. The less particles in the water, the less bubble-forming sites (or crystal forming sites for super-cooled water). The prevalence of today's filtered water probably only makes this phenomenom more likely to happen. Another example of this is the "mentos in diet coke" fountain effect. Mythbusters did a show where they tested the fountain effect and it appeared that the crucial element to the fountain were the large number of small pits and crevices on the mentos candy shell. RE: Dangerous..Worth a read - The Coil - 06-22-2007 PB - Mythbusters also did a show a while back testing this myth. They did indeed find that water purity made a big difference. They got the best effect throwing a fork into a microwaved mug of purified water, if I recall correctly. RE: Dangerous..Worth a read - Mike Abberton - 06-22-2007 Coil, I love that show. Everything you always wanted to know and were afraid to try yourself. Plus, they blow stuff up alot. PB RE: Dangerous..Worth a read - Copper - 06-22-2007 Yeah I articularly liked the show where they tested if they could make car explode by firing machine guns at the petrol tank.... it didnt blow up... LOL Damn Hollywood..!!