Is it true that its dangerous to microwave water for more than 2 mins?

Question

I have heard that the water bursts

Answer 1

Unless you have quite a bit in there to heat, YES. It will get too hot and bust the cup. What can also happen is when you remove the cup from the microwave and then stir it, it can explode in your face like a bomb and burn you real bad. Something to do with the molecules in the water.
See Article :
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 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 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 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.

"It is caused by a phenomenon known as
super heating. It can occur anytime water is heated
and will particularly occur if the vessel that 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."

Answer 2

It's perfectly safe. The only worry is that you can superheat portions of the water beyond the boiling point. Then, when you disturb the water, it all explodes out at once. Just give it a quick nudge with your hand while the rest of you is protected by the door if you're worried--that way, worst case scenario, you end up with some burns on your hand only. This is really rare, however, and is probably only going to happen if you put the water in for too long, or have a bad microwave. Even then, it's unlikely. Other than that, you only have to make sure you're using a microwave safe container. Some plastics can release dangerous chemicals when heated in the microwave; glass is fine, and certain plastics, as well as some ceramic items.

Answer 3

Yes. It has happen to me and my wife, I did not get burnt, my wife did had to go to emergency. Happens 1 in 1000 times or so.
We both enjoy the microwave and use it but we are more careful now on. We even knew about it, but just were in a hurry.

Partially true. But time has nothing to do with it.

This burst phenomena is true for any liquid, that is heated by any source of energy.

You are observing it as as boiling.

In case of microwave, it heats the liquid from centre out. If you take it out at any time you need to be care full, there is always a high temperate bubble in the centre of the vessel that can erupt and injure your hand.

To avoid this burn, once you turn off the microwave you count 1 thru 10 slowly then lift the vessel slowly by this time the high temperature has chance to defuse. If you lift it right away the jerking action encourages the bubble to bust and result is very serous burn. It is also called microwave hot liquid bounce. It is a good idea to stir the liquid right away to defuse heat evenly and control the chance of secondary burst due to latent heat energy.

Time:

If you are heating water for tea or coffee a cup filled with 8 Oz of water takes 2 minutes to boil in a normal microwave oven.

Larger quantities will take longer, most microwave oven should shut off if there is nothing in them or if it malefactions because there is some metal, that may be in the food.

But sefty may not work then you should shut it, do not open the door use stop button or clear button wait a while and open. Other usual causions apply.

Answer 4

If you wanted to, you could nuke water for as long as it takes to completely vaporize. Just as long as you use a proper container.

The reason water can "explode" when you microwave it is because the molecules in the water get very agitated (and turn into vapor) when they're heated. If you use a container that's not suited for the purpose (a glass bottle with a narrow opening, for example), the vapor won't be able to escape readily. Eventually, the molecular activity in the water will force it to jump out of the container.

If you use a suitable container, like a measuring cup (with an opening that's wide), the water will just safely boil until it's completely evaporated.

Answer 5

Nope, water won't burst. The container will, though, spilling boiling hot water all over. This WILL give you 3rd degree burns. If you have a very smooth container, the water will not bubble or boil. Instead it will become superheated. When you open the microwave door and anything touches the water, it will immediately boil over. DON'T BOIL WATER IN THE MICROWAVE IF AT ALL POSSIBLE!!!

Answer 6

Nope, I've done it many times and been perfectly safe. Just don't let it boil over and make a steamy mess. They have special boiling flasks to make hot water safely in a microwave.

Answer 7

yes,actually your statement is true,if you need any guidelines on
microwave cooking many books are available on stores.

Answer 8

lol
water doesnt burst
its not dangerous at all, dont worry =]

Answer 9

I doubt it.