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true! boiling water in microwave, ge's response

updated thu 6 jul 06

 

Edouard Bastarache Inc. on mon 3 jul 06


Folks,

This one is true. It has happened to me...yes, with a new mug. It's =
rare, but you can minimize your risks. Pay attention to this one!

Michele Williams
Who loves her friends raw, not boiled.




Boiling Water in Microwave, a No No, GE's response


I'm sure you have all heard about not heating water in the micro - this =
is the first time I've see a response from GE on why. This is a good =
reminder!

(I did not know this, did you?)

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.

Then 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 =
anyth ing 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 =
surfacenscratchesninside 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 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
painn and suffering


-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------
Why keep checking for Mail? The all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta shows you when =
there are new messages.

Tom at Hutchtel.net on mon 3 jul 06


Before we go pedaling this one around too much, please take a look at these
two websites....

http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/nukedh2o.html
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/microwave-water.html

I suggest that when you get/hear these types of articles, you Google the key
words, in this case, "GE, water, microwave" to check on whether or not it's
a legend. In this case it appears not to be a total legend, but so remote
in chance as to be a negligible risk.

Tom Wirt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Edouard Bastarache Inc."
To:
Sent: Monday, July 03, 2006 3:41 PM
Subject: TRUE! Boiling Water in Microwave, GE's response


> Folks,
>
> This one is true. It has happened to me...yes, with a new mug. It's =
> rare, but you can minimize your risks. Pay attention to this one!
>
> Michele Williams
> Who loves her friends raw, not boiled.
>
>
>
>
> Boiling Water in Microwave, a No No, GE's response
>
>
> I'm sure you have all heard about not heating water in the micro - this =
> is the first time I've see a response from GE on why. This is a good =
> reminder!
>
> (I did not know this, did you?)
>
> 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.
>
> Then 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 =
> anyth ing 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 =
> surfacenscratchesninside 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 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
> painn and suffering
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -------
> Why keep checking for Mail? The all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta shows you when =
> there are new messages.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
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> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>

claybair on tue 4 jul 06


Just for the record....
I witnessed this occurrence.
My mother tried to remove a
Pyrex measuring cup of water
out of the microwave when the water
exploded out of the cup.
Fortunately she was not scalded.
It was wild!


Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
Tucson, AZ
http://claybair.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Hutchtel

Before we go pedaling this one around too much, please take a look at these
two websites....

http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/nukedh2o.html
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/microwave-water.html

I suggest that when you get/hear these types of articles, you Google the key
words, in this case, "GE, water, microwave" to check on whether or not it's
a legend. In this case it appears not to be a total legend, but so remote
in chance as to be a negligible risk.

Tom Wirt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Edouard Bastarache Inc."

> Folks,
>
> This one is true. It has happened to me...yes, with a new mug. It's =
> rare, but you can minimize your risks. Pay attention to this one!
>
> Michele Williams
> Who loves her friends raw, not boiled.
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.8/380 - Release Date: 6/30/2006

Brian Fistler on tue 4 jul 06


On Mon, 2006-07-03 at 21:23 -0500, Tom at Hutchtel.net wrote:
> Before we go pedaling this one around too much, please take a look at these
> two websites....
>
> http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/nukedh2o.html
> http://www.hoax-slayer.com/microwave-water.html
>
> I suggest that when you get/hear these types of articles, you Google the key
> words, in this case, "GE, water, microwave" to check on whether or not it's
> a legend. In this case it appears not to be a total legend, but so remote
> in chance as to be a negligible risk.

Tom,

Sorry to say, superheating of water in the micowave is and does occur.

Did the very specific "story" occur, who knows, but it has and can
happen.

Also the explination from GE, while I"m not going to take the time to
verify that it did indeed come from a GE rep, IS technically correct.

If you want to prove it for yourself, the best way would be to get some
bottled water in a glass container, open it up, don't shake it to get
any air bubbles in it, put it in a microwave for 3 or 4 minutes, then
open the microwave door and drop something inside the bottle where
bubbles can start to form... I would suggest doing this with some VERY
VERY long tongs, maybe 6 to 10 foot long ones.

You may need to try a few bottles to get one to work, as even a slight
scratch in the glass inside can give enough of a surface for the water
vapor to form on and begin boiling by itself, also if you shake the
bottle first so that bubbles are created in the water, the microscopic
bubbles left in the water that have not yet floated to the top will be
enough of a "starter" to allow the water to boil normally and and
super-heat, but if the bottle is made without scratches inside, and you
give it plenty of time after moving/shaking/jostling the bottle, you can
quite easily reproduce this.

It took me about 5 tries several years ago to do it in an old microwave
I was getting ready to throw out. (it was done outside, with a kitchen
glass and tap water) I was using a 4 ft long stick to pop the door open
and was going to drop some salt in it, but the bump of pushing the door
release button was all it took for it to explode. I've seen it
demonstrated with the glass bottle trick so you have the perfectly
smooth inside surface on a coulpe of different TV shows, looks like it
would be easier and more repeatable that way.

(Just don't go reproducing the alleged burns on yourself!)

Brian

Tom at Hutchtel.net on wed 5 jul 06


Obviously Brian, you did not go to either of the website that I listed.
Both said that the microwave phenomenon is real, but quite rare (and a very
good reason for not being too sanitary :>) )so get off my case. Also, why
does the supposed urban legend only mention GE. Is there something about a
GE microwave that is different from others? Sorry, but this horse is dead.

Tom Wirt

From: "Brian Fistler"
>Subject: Re: TRUE! Boiling Water in Microwave, GE's response


> On Mon, 2006-07-03 at 21:23 -0500, Tom at Hutchtel.net wrote:
>> Before we go pedaling this one around too much, please take a look at
>> these
>> two websites....
>>
>> http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/nukedh2o.html
>> http://www.hoax-slayer.com/microwave-water.html
>>
>
> Sorry to say, superheating of water in the micowave is and does occur.
>
> Did the very specific "story" occur, who knows, but it has and can
> happen.