"MY CUP BOILETH OVER!" > Page
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Karl writes: The exploding water issue is one I have been wondering about myself. I
make instant coffee with microwave-heated water. Often when I drop a
spoonful of the instant coffee into the non-boiling water it foams up
suddenly and pours out all over the countertop. I have been looking at the
almost empty cup and the mess in dismay and thinking... gee, here is
something else in life I don't comprehend. I have never seen the coffee
shoot out into the air very far; it just does a kind of superfast boiling
over thing, but I wouldn't want my face to be near the cup when it happens.
As Johnny Carson used to say, "weird, wacky stuff." I read what the scientists
say and I still don't really understand it. I wonder if the cup shape and
material or water quality makes any difference?
John writes:
An alternative explanation: tap water contains a certain quantity of dissolved
gasses such as carbon dioxide, chlorine, etc. The
solubility of these gasses is temperature dependent.
Much of the early bubbling which we see in water prior
to boiling is evidence of the de-gassing process which
takes place as the water is heated.
Microwaving heats the water too quickly for this
de-gassing to take place.
The effect of adding a fine powder such as instant
coffee to the water provides a large number of
nucleating surfaces for gas bubbles to form. The
effect is similar to that seen with hollow stemmed
champagne glasses where a large surface area
concentrated over a small cross-sectional area of the
stem gives an intense concentration of bubbles.
Thus, the water gives the effect of "exploding" or
frothing when the dry powder is added.
Personal Experience: pseudo-cappucino. I use this process to froth my coffee as follows.
Place a mug of water in the microwave and heat to
about boiling point (2 mins approx).
Add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee. Do not stir, just
watch the coffee fiz or foam.
Add milk or cream as required.
| "It's clear that the message is spam" |
Michael writes: C'mon, Dave! Given the information you presented, it's clear that the
message is spam! If the guy got burned the way it's described, he would
have had to have dropped the tea bag into the cup when it was right in
front of his face, making him eligible for a Darwin Awards runner-up
citation.
Marcia writes: In response to microwaving water, it can happen. I don't know about the
current message going around. I received it also. But, this did indeed
happen to a personal friend of mine several years ago. She called me one
night after heating water for a cup of coffee or chocolate (I can't remember
now), and when she removed the cup the water erupted in her
face. She stated she had done this many times previously in the same manner
without incident.
She called me because I'm a nurse. I told her what to do and went over to
her house immediately with some burn cream for her face. She only had 1st-degree burns, fortunately. I will forward her a copy of this email. Maybe
she will respond to you personally.
I also have microwaved water many times without incident and I haven't heard
of this injury again until the email surfaced. As a response to it, I connected with the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Website, and found information on appliance safety. Under "Microwave
Safety Practices" it has the following: "Stir liquids before heating them
to avoid eruptions when containers are removed from the oven." This
indicates to me that the injuries have occurred to others for them to
include this warning.
The document I am referencing is published by The Ohio State University
Extension. Document number AEX-692, Ohio State University Extension,
Columbus, Ohio 43210. The title is "Parents Appliance Use & Safety Exchange
With Children - P.A.U.S.E. With Children", June 1992.
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