Be Careful When Boiling Water In A Microwave

Today i got a mail about Boiling Water In Microwave. here is the mail- THIS INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE SHARED!

Microwaved water - MUST readA 26-year old guy 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 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 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 (GE) response:

Thanks for contacting us. I will be happy to assist you. The e-mail that you received is correct.

Micro waved 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 teabag 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.

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


More about the issue from The University of New South Wales (school of physics), Sydney, Australia:
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/superheating.html

after reading the mail I decide to search more on it and found lots of information about it. I think every one should be careful about it.. so, keep reading..

Be Careful When Boiling Water In A Microwave
The convenience and speed of cooking in a microwave oven has lead to it's tremendous popularity. Today few homes do not use the microwave oven for some form of cooking. However, not many people know that there is a right way and wrong way to boil water in a microwave oven. Doing it the wrong way can cause serious and permanent injury.

Safety experts warn that putting a bowl full of water or a mug full of water in a microwave, without anything else added to the water can be dangerous. This leads to a condition that is scientifically referred to as 'superheating' of water. What this basically means is that the water gets very hot without showing the conventional bubbles that develop as the water heats up. When this does happen, the user could take out the boiled water from the microwave oven and the trapped heat comes bursting out of the vessel. This could happen at the slightest jerk and implies a release of heated steam on the face, eyes or hands of the user.

The right way to boil water in a microwave involves, added a wodden spoon or a tea bag or tea leaves into the vessel. This allows the heat generated to be released throghout the boiling process. The heat bubbles are not trapped in the water and the whole procedure gets to be much safer.

If you need more information or explanation for this dangerous phenomenon, refer to this link. Also help your friends, relatives and collegues understand the dangers and the right way to boil water in a microwave. http://www.health.food-recipe-cooking.com/boiling-water-in-a-microwave-01.htm

Be safe and b well everyone. Thanks.