Microwave Warning:

Do not heat liquids in a microwave for more than 2  minutes.

>        ( Share this important information with your families and friends.)
>
>        ''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 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                    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                anything               into               it.
>
>        Here  is  what  a 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
>        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.
>