"Virus Hoaxes"
Virus Hoax Warnings: Page 2 of 81
Hot Water in Microwave October 2000 This warning is basically true.�We originally felt that the likelihood of this happening was very low but enough people have managed to make this happen for ABC News to do a segment on it.� The risk is still low, considering the number of cups of water heated in a microwave every day but it is not zero. Microwave users can prevent this from happening by simply not overheating the water. If your cup of water has been in the microwave for two or three minutes, it is hot. There is no need to heat it more. It is possible to superheat water in the microwave. To do so, you must have an extremely clean glass with no microscopic dirt or scratches that could serve as nucleation points for boiling. That is you need a new glass and it must be very clean. Usually you would have to clean the glass with acid because soap leaves a microscopic film that can serve as nucleation points for boiling.� There also must be little or no vibration as that can also trigger boiling. If you now heat this ultra clean glass of water in the microwave you can get the water above the boiling point without there being any bubbles. When you remove it, a slight vibration or fleck of dust can trigger it into vigorous boiling. I tried this and it does start bubbling and frothing for a couple of seconds but did not jump out of the glass as mentioned in the warning. We have had mail from people with first hand experience with this effect and they all indicated that the water exploded out of the glass.� To do this, the water temperature must be well over the boiling point. To prevent this and other problems with microwaves, people should keep one thing in mind: Don't overheat. **W A R N I N G: W A T E R I N M I C R O W A V E** I guess I didn't know this. I heat water in a mug often in the microwave. I never thought of it as being too dangerous. I feel that the following is information that anyone who uses a microwave oven to heat water should be made aware of. About five days ago my twenty-six-year old son decided to have a cup of instant 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 flew out into his face due to the build up of energy. His whole face is blistered and he has first and second degree burns to his face that 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 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 stirrer stick / spoon, tea bag, etc. It is however a much safer choice to boil the water in a kettle. NOTE: Subsequently on reviewing the above I have consulted a set of Microwave Operation Instructions and under the heading Liquids it states: Liquids that have been heated by Microwave can suddenly erupt. This is due to layers heated to higher temperatures being trapped under the surface. To avoid this happening to any liquid, e.g. coffee, custard, gravy etc.: 1. Stir the liquid thoroughly before heating in the microwave. 2. Stir the liquid at least twice during the heating time. 3. Stir the liquid again at the end. NEVER OVERHEAT LIQUIDS. 4. Always use a suitable sized container, at least one third larger, than the volume of liquid to be heated. If in doubt use conventional methods, kettle, etc. Please pass this information on to friends and family
Copyright 2004 by Jay Jennings
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