Microwave sink (was: Re: strange remark about your collection?)

At 12:00 -0500 9/28/12, Rob wrote: This may not be the best idea, unless your water is "dirty" (in the sense of having something suspended that forms nucleation sites for steam bubbles). Our water is "clean", and my wife once decided to try to heat some up in our microwave. It superheated by a noticeable amount, then finally boiled off catastrophically. Big cloud of steam, microwave door blown open, loud noise, 100 C water splashing around the kitchen. There was some damage apparent later in the switch that should normally turn the thing off when the door is open, which I eventually had to replace, but otherwise the microwave itself was OK. Maybe this is an unusual event and almost certainly it depends on what container the water is in, but I'd use a little caution with that approach given our experience. Howzabout a pile of CD's or marshmallows or a crate of eggs in there instead? ;-) OK seriously, wet towel or wheel of cheese in a bowl or something that won't superheat and has not much mechanical integrity? Physics majors, any good suggestions? Oatmeal in the water? -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.