Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Below is a forwarded mail from a fren.
I am not so sure about the reliability of the whole story but no harm reading it and take precaution against such things in future!

~
A 26-year old decided to have a cup of coffee.
He took a cup of water andput 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 mehe 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 thatthe 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 handbut 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 himstated that this is fairly common occurrence and water (alone) should never be heated in a microwave oven.
If water is heated in this manner, somethingshould 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 ina 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 alwaysbubble 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 cupwhen 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 liquidfor 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.




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