It will explode.....

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Apr 14, 2006 | 10:06 AM

WilliesSD250

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Laughing Gas

Joined: Apr 2005

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From: VA

It will explode.....

Well here's one of those cases of you hears about it happening but, "it won't hapen to me"..... bought myself a new coffee mug. Rinsed it out. This morning (actually a few minutes ago) I poured some coffee in it then put it in the micro wave. Set the timer for 3 minutes (yea I like my coffee HOT!!) Well needless to say that about 2 minutes later I heard this boom and knew right away what had happened. The coffee had been heated above the boiling point and exploded out of the coffee cups. What's even funnier I had just seen the experiment on the food channel (that show with the nutty guy that talks to his food and does the kitchen experiments) where they heated a glass bottle with water till it exploded.
So here's a saftey tip....when ever you get a new coffee mug when you wash it for the first time, maske sure to really rub the inside with a scotch brite pad or sos pad (create some scratches on the surface) this will allow the molecules to have a place to adhere to while the water is heating. I think on the show they said you just rake a knife point across the side of the cup. It doesn't have to be a noticaable scratch. You might even be able to rub some salt around the inside of it. Just roughen up the surface and you won't have to clean up a mess later..
I'm just glad that it happened inside of the micro, rather than on me when I pulled it out and gave it a stir!!!

Last edited by WilliesSD250; Apr 14, 2006 at 10:11 AM.

Apr 14, 2006 | 10:47 AM

jim henderson

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From: So Cal

I have done this by accident with a small amount of water. The microwave oven door actually blew open.

There is also the unseen danger of superheated water. The water is microwaved above boiling, but doesn't boil. When you move the water or put something into it, it either boils over or flashes into steam. Both situations are very dangerous and you can get some bad burns.

Caution when microwaving liquids.

Jim Henderson

Apr 14, 2006 | 04:24 PM

rebocardo

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Joined: Jun 2002

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From: Atlanta GA

> Both situations are very dangerous and you can get some bad burns.

Yep, I had that happen to me. I mircowaved some water and when I put the chicken cubes in for some soup, the water exploded. I am jumpy and it missed me, though my heart was pounding for a minute. I was glad my kids were not helping like they usually do or it would have been a face full. So, I run the hot water through the coffee maker now if they are helping.

Apr 14, 2006 | 04:48 PM

FghtinIrshNvrDie

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Joined: Jun 2004

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From: Pleasant Hill, MO

Quote:

There is also the unseen danger of superheated water. The water is microwaved above boiling, but doesn't boil. When you move the water or put something into it, it either boils over or flashes into steam.

Exactly. I've seen this happen in my chemistry lab. When you lower pressure in a vacuum area, like we did, the boiling point rises. So, we heated it in the bunsen burner, kept the vacuum, and it didn't boil, even though it was at 125*C. We slowly removed the vacuum pressure, but kept the temp steady at 125. Still no boil. Then, we all stood back, took a metal rod, and tapped the side of the thing. It erupted into a mountain of steam with water pouring over the sides. It was pretty cool.

Same thing can happen in freezing conditions. We did it with a simple water bottle. We had a freezer set at -2*C, and put the bottle in there for like 30 minutes. We went back, to find it was still liquid. We very carefully brought it out of the freezer, and tapped it on the table. It just needed a hair of energy, so it crystallized on the spot. VERY cool. You can safely try this one at home.

Ryan