The Fascinating world of Science – Exploding water

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May 13, 2002
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www.socialistworld.net
#1
Microwaving Water to Heat it Up

I feel that the following is information that any one who uses a microwave oven to heat water should be made aware of. About five days ago my 26-year old son decided to have a cup of instant coffee. He took a cup of Too hot to handle 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 flew out into his face due to the buildup 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 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 however a much safer choice to boil the water in a tea kettle. Please pass this information on to friends and family.

Oh it's true, it's true. http://www.snopes.com/science/microwav.htm
 
Jun 27, 2003
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#7
NUTTCASE said:
good info bro...hope your son gets well..
that would be pretty funny if it was a joke...

anyway, I doubt this case actually happened cuz water "blowing up" is possible, but not very practical.
 
Apr 25, 2002
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#8
it will only explode if you use distilled water. the reason tap water boils is because impurities...with distilled water there are no impurities and if you microwave it ..it will heat up past the boiling point and not boil. as soon as you put a cube of sugar in the hot ass water it will all the sudden start boiling and shoot water everywhere.
 
Nov 14, 2002
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#10
Well something similar happened in my house, coincidentally with a mug that was used for instant coffee. So basically it comes down to using ceramic (a mug), or instant coffee. Lord knows I've never had a tupperware bowl of water "blow up". But I also don't have to stick my face in a cup of water to find out if it's boiling either...