Boat Microwave

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September 2nd, 2007 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

boat microwave
How long should you microwave about 1 liter of water ( at 800 watts ) to kill all organisms in it.?

The microwaves ought to kill germs/ bacteria/ viruses.
But do you actually have to bring it to the boil ?.
To me it is a matter of energy saving as I might do it on my boat.
It has one solar panel, so energy supply is limited.
Microwaves use pots of energy so limiting the use to a safe minimum would be very helpful.
I don't want to boil it at all, I used to be a Chef and know the risks involved. But the radiation itself should kill organisms before the water actually boils ( I hope ).

That guy is right, that you can superheat the water, which could result in burns....if you're STUPIT. And, guess what? If you pour pots and pots of boiling water into a tub, add some bubbles and try to take a bubble bath....you'll also get burned.
Same for sticking your hand in a vat of bubbling oil while making donuts.
Or, pouring a cup of boiling hot coffee on your lap.

OK, I'll stop being a smart aleck.
If you want to kill all bacteria, my understanding is that it has to boil, and boil for a specific period of time (I do not know how much time, prob at least 60-90 seconds, but will try to find out.)
As far as the super-heating, you circumvent that by opening the m'wave door after you see the first bubbles on the bottom,; a little jostling or stirring--from a distance---will get the boil going. Then you wait a minute or two, get it boiling again, stir, repeat, until you have about a good minute of boiling. This will kill virtually all pathogens/microbes. But don't expect it to taste like Dasani.

The point is, that for bacteria to be killed (and some of the most noxious, BTW, are also the most fragile, i.e. easily killed) takes a certain and particular amount and time of heat or freeze application. Very similar the way fevers work---the degree of body heat and the amount of time the fever lasts is a natural response to whatever bug our body's trying to fight.