Water Superheating in Microwave

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:
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.

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

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Microwave
• Superheating
• Water

[wildreams]

@khrak Metal is still dangerous, even though it does not 100% cause explosion. Anyway, a nice way to end a conversation spanning 2 years, lol.

[khrak]

@wildreams No, they just tell children that. There are lots of time it's fine to put metal in a microwave.

[Kenzofeis]

So go fucking try what I described, I am tired of this crap now.

[wildreams]

@Kenzofeis

Metal in microwave = Explosion.

[Kenzofeis]

One can use a metal teaspoon in the water.

Not teabags at least, they should not soak too long anyway due to release of toxic metals and such.. and some teabags also have metal clips fastening the thread..