Microwave water?
Someone forwarded this to me:
A 26-year old person 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 told me 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 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 due to the build up of energy. His whole face is blistered and he has 1st and 2nd degree burns to his facewhich 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 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 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.
Can any engineer enlighten me on this cos i been warming up water using microwaves too for a while… moi dunwan to get disfigured….
It’s true, if you actually know how micro-oven heats up.
Comment by KingMeng — September 19, 2005 @ 9:27 pm
eeeyer..sounds scary! young.. STOP heating water using the microwave… get a KETTLE for goodness sake.
Comment by missy — September 19, 2005 @ 11:33 pm
Wau lau…Lucky i never heat water for more than 1 min.
Missy - sometime it’s not just plain water mah…Sometimes it’s just soup….
Comment by Administrator — September 19, 2005 @ 11:41 pm
read more here: http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/microwave/overview.php
i seriously think u shld stop heating water using mirowave..play it safe using kettle…i dun wan u to go out scaring kids if u scarred ur face =p
Comment by gracey — September 20, 2005 @ 1:20 pm
later ur handsome face kena scarred and no meimei want you, then how?
Comment by nadnut — September 20, 2005 @ 5:10 pm
Think i go out now also scare kids…too bengish??
nad>>>Then i’m all yours liao lor….
Comment by Administrator — September 20, 2005 @ 6:38 pm
haha… pls take good care of ur eyes.. that’s only the most charming part of u
hehehe
& y would anyone do that for heating wateer?? i am ignorant leh
Comment by vanna — September 20, 2005 @ 8:05 pm
Oei…vanna ..dun like this leh…. today….
The damm waitress told me the only charming part is my eyes…. so deja vu leh…
Comment by Administrator — September 21, 2005 @ 2:37 am
really??? hahaha
tat waitress more evurl than me..
LOL
Comment by vanna — September 21, 2005 @ 1:26 pm
nay… I more erurl….
I hoot her untill the boss come over and ask me to spare her….
lolz…
Comment by Administrator — September 21, 2005 @ 2:59 pm
Back to the topic at hand, it can happen but only under very rare conditions. More info here:
http://www.snopes.com/science/microwave.asp
Btw dude, you famous liao … came here via Blinkymummy’s site.
Comment by Mooiness — September 23, 2005 @ 7:23 am
Try to read this site, another one has pictures of how it happens. it’s cool.
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/superheating.html
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem00/chem00636.htm
Comment by chicane — September 23, 2005 @ 2:45 pm
Hey Dudes, thanks for the additional informations….appreciate it
Mooiness>>> One day fame thingy only…it will die off…
Comment by young — September 24, 2005 @ 4:22 am
Oh yea, it’s true. I saw a simulated scene of it on Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters. The water literally exploded.
Comment by hejin — September 25, 2005 @ 10:51 am