Hi, this was sent to me from my very good friend. I am passing it on
as a
warning to all of you.............especially those of you with
children.............. It could save your face from 3rd degree burns!!

Trish
Since The Unborn Can't Speak For Themselves, We Need To Speak For
Them.


Microwaving Water to Heat it Up:
I feel that the following is information that any one who
uses a microwave oven to heat water should be made aware of.  About
five
days ago, my 26 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. 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 onto
his
face due to the buildup 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 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 stir stick, tea bag, etc. It is however a much safer choice to
boil the water in a tea kettle.  Please pass this information on to
friends and family.
Here is what our science teacher has to say on the matter: "Thanks for
the microwave warning. I have seen
this happen before. It is caused by a phenomenon known as super
heating.
It can occur anytime water is heated and will particularly occur if
the
vessel the water is heated in is new. What happens is that the water
heats faster than the
vapor bubbles can form. If the cup is very new then it is unlikely to
have small surface scratches inside it that provide a place for the
bubbles to form. As the
bubbles cannot form and release some of the heat that has built up,
the
liquid does not boil, and the liquid continues to heat up well past
its
boiling point. What then
usually happens is that the liquid is bumped or jarred, which is just
enough of a shock to cause the bubbles to rapidly form and expel the
hot
liquid. The rapid
formation of bubbles is also why a carbonated beverage spews when
opened
after having been "shaken."
Please pass this on to everyone you know, it could save a lot of pain
and
suffering.