[Clayart] water in mugs

[Vince Pitelka]

This is a weird conversation.  It is a very well-known fact that water impacted in the pores of clay cause pots to get hot in the microwave independent of whatever is inside them.  There's really nothing to question here other than further research into the mechanics of what's going on.  
- Vince

Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka at dtccom.net  
https://sites.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
 



-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:clayart-bounces at lists.clayartworld.com] On Behalf Of Paul Gerhold
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2016 2:11 PM
To: Clayart international pottery discussion forum <clayart at lists.clayartworld.com>
Subject: Re: [Clayart] water in mugs

Bruce,
Nobody said you are heating the mug although certain materials in clay do heat appreciable with microwave radiation.  What I am talking about is heat transfer from the water to the ceramic part of the mug which will cool the water at the same time it heats the clay.

Also I suspect if enough steam were coming off the surface of the mug or handle to create a burn the steam would be visible. Also My guess is  your hand or finger would be wet if enough steam were present to cause a burn.  

Paul

Sent from my iPad

> On Nov 10, 2016, at 10:48 AM, Girrell, Bruce <bigirrell at microlinetc.com> wrote:
> 
> Paul,
> 
> No, no, no. We're not heating the mug. We're heating the water. The microwaves do not interact with the ceramic in any appreciable manner. If the water is flashed to steam and finds its way to the surface where your finger is located, it's going to burn, regardless of the mug temperature. The water does not have to heat the mug first.
> 
> Bruce Girrell
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clayart [mailto:clayart-bounces at lists.clayartworld.com] On Behalf Of Paul Gerhold
> Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2016 8:57 PM
> To: Clayart international pottery discussion forum <clayart at lists.clayartworld.com>
> Subject: Re: [Clayart] water in mugs
> 
> Yes,
> Except even with the specific heat of ceramic about a third that of water it would be incredibly difficult to heat the mug enough to generate steam coming out of the open pores in the handle.  Guess if you microwaved the mug for ten or twenty minutes you might do it but the steam would be coming from everywhere and you would have to be really silly to pick up the mug.
> 
> Paul
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
>> On Nov 9, 2016, at 3:25 PM, Girrell, Bruce <bigirrell at microlinetc.com> wrote:
>> 
>> David Hendley wrote:  if you have never picked up an unvitrified mug full of absorbed water out of the microwave - it is unbelievably hot, not at all like a mug with heat transferred from the hot coffee in the mug to the handle.
>> 
>> 
>> Which would lead us to conclude, then, that it is not the ceramic object itself that is doing the burning, but rather live steam. Therefore, computations of the amount of water compared to the mass of the mug will be misleading. It would take only a small amount of steam to create enough pain to make you drop the cup instantly and possibly cause blistering
>> 
>> Bruce Girrell
>> 
>> 
> 
>