Microwaving Water To Boil

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Though containing the telltale signs of a hoax, this letter does
contain some truth, though it's really nothing to loose sleep over
http://www.snopes.com/spoons/faxlore/microwav.htm
http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/weird/microexp.html#coffee
http://www.newscientist.com/lastword/answers/lwa456bubbles.html
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Hello,

This note was passed along from an associate as a learning for
all of us, both at home and at work. Please make your family
members aware that pure liquids like water need a nucleation
site (a rough surface) for vapour bubbles to start boiling on. A
smooth surface, such as a new ceramic mug or glass, could
create the situation described below if used for heating water in a
microwave...

Allan

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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 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.

Please pass this information on to friends and family.