Microwave vs Wife!

Honest John Back Room » General discussion ( non motoring )
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Fri 24 Jun 2011 13:38
Microwave vs Wife! - ohsoslow

Management had a cup with a gilt rim spinning in the said appliance thismorning. Apart from a very impressive electrical storm within, does this cause any damage to the microwave or the cup?

Advised to remove cup which she did accompanied by a long sigh.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 13:45
Microwave vs Wife! - Bobbin Threadbare

Yes it can damage the microwave if there is arcing; I have heard tell of the electrical arc punching a hole in the microwave oven lining.

Some metal things are ok in the microwave; it depends on what size they are and how well they conduct.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 14:21
Microwave vs Wife! - unthrottled

Many moons ago my mum tried to heat up some plates in the microwave....

Actually, that remins me of an argument I had with a physics postgrad-who should have known better. He always made cups of tea in the microwave because he claimed it was more efficient. I argued that both microwave and electric kettle used exactly the same amount of energy to heat the same amount of water-otherwise all sorts of laws would be violated.

We carried out a crude test-numbers identical.

Edited by unthrottled on 24/06/2011 at 14:25

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 14:32
Microwave vs Wife! - SlidingPillar

Depends how you like your tea.

It is possible to get a cup of water to such a state in a microwave, that adding a teabag to the cup on removal causes the water to boil. (No circulation and a bit of super-heating basically).

You do get a different taste, but if you drown it with milk and add suger I doubt you'd notice.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 14:37
Microwave vs Wife! - Bobbin Threadbare

My favourite is when I had a dodgy ancient microwave, so before I disposed of it, I microwaved a CD. Awesome!!!

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 14:50
Microwave vs Wife! - unthrottled

I've tried the super heating trick and never achieved it! You need very clean glassware and distilled water. The super cooling in the feeezer is pretty neat.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 16:52
Microwave vs Wife! - Bobbin Threadbare

Liquid nitrogen ice-cream is my favourite.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 14:41
Microwave vs Wife! - Bobbin Threadbare

You'd hope it was damn near identical or the universe has gone tits up! He should have at least known that water is water, so its specific heat capacity is the same in a cup or a kettle!!

Edited by Bobbin Threadbare on 24/06/2011 at 14:42

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 14:55
Microwave vs Wife! - unthrottled

On a related note, I toyed with the idea of replacing part of the engine cooling system with sodium acetate. The theory being that the start up vibrations would be sufficient to kick start the crystallisation reaction. The generated heat would hasten engine warm up and could make a noticeable difference to cold start/short journey emissions/economy which are a real headache to OEMs. Immediate heat available to the HVAC would be a bonus too. The idea was that when the engine was at normal operating temperature, it would be hot enough to break down the crystalline structure ready for the next cold start. Neat in theory.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 14:59
Microwave vs Wife! - jamie745

*nods in agreement* Yes! Very much so!

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 15:36
Microwave vs Wife! - unthrottled

Saracasm noted! We can't all just find 'D' on the selector-some of us like to try to figure out how things work and see where the scope (if any) lies for improvement.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 15:40
Microwave vs Wife! - ohsoslow

Thanks for answer ref damage to microwave. I will pass this on to Head of Kitchen Dept.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 15:55
Microwave vs Wife! - jamie745

I dont need to know how it works, the people who made it and mechanics paid to fix it have the job of knowing how it works. The scope for improvement is moot as i wont be the one improving it. I dont like to fill up my finite useful vital brainspace with things which dont matter.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 16:48
Microwave vs Wife! - Bobbin Threadbare

finite ..... brainspace

Nuff said.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 16:56
Microwave vs Wife! - jamie745

You missed out useful and vital. Im afraid i cannot allow this.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 17:17
Microwave vs Wife! - Bobbin Threadbare

What exactly are you gonna do about it? ;-P

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 17:21
Microwave vs Wife! - Bobbin Threadbare

Did you make it? I can see the pros and cons of it. It'd be a fun thing to test out though.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 17:25
Microwave vs Wife! - JOGON

We put the Evesham Gold (rimmed) mugs in on Bonfire Night and gather round

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 18:38
Microwave vs Wife! - bathtub tom

Have you tried a bar of soap?

There's plenty on you tube to avoid cleaning up the resulting mess.

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Fri 24 Jun 2011 18:54
Microwave vs Wife! - Bobbin Threadbare

Grapes are also fun.

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