Guest guest Posted January 12, 2001 Report Share Posted January 12, 2001 I just received this and think it is worth sharing. About five days ago, a 26 year old son decided to have a cup of instant 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 told me he wanted to bring the water to a boil-- probably about 2-3 minutes. When the timer shut the oven off, he removed the cup from the oven. As he looked into the cup he noticed that the water was not boiling, but instantly 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. 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 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. It is a much safer choice to boil the water in a tea kettle. Please pass this information on to friends and family. Here is what our science teacher has 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. 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. " Please pass this on, it could save a lot of pain and suffering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2001 Report Share Posted January 12, 2001 Om Namah Shivaya, Chandrika, Thanks for sharing that with the list. I have experienced water being super-heated in certain cups. I have tried to boil water in shiny new mugs and found that the water didn't seem to be boiling, but it was in fact extremely hot, and sputtered when jiggled, but luckily I wasn't hurt. I'm on a felting list and someone shared similar information as you, but some people thought it was a hoax. From experience, I know it's not. Om Amriteshvaryai Namaha Fe/ Saswati Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2001 Report Share Posted January 12, 2001 Namah shivaye! I wish well to your son, may Amma help him in fast recovery. I had tried boiling water in microwave and i couldn't see water boiling but it was super hot. I remember few bubbles bounce over to my hands and i dropped the mug on the kitchen counter. Thanks for explaining what goes on when just plain water is heated in microwave. Now I'll be careful. Om Amriteshwariye Namah Ammachi , "Chandrika Sharma" <Chandrika_Sharma@u...> wrote: > I just received this and think it is worth sharing. > > About five days ago, a 26 year old son decided to have a cup of > instant 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 told me he wanted to bring the > water to a boil-- probably about 2-3 minutes. When the timer shut the > oven off, he removed the cup from the oven. As he looked into the cup he > noticed that the water was not boiling, but instantly 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. 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 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. It is a much safer choice to boil the water in a tea > kettle. > > Please pass this information on to friends and family. Here is what our > science teacher has 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. 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. > > " Please pass this on, it could save a lot of pain and suffering > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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