let me put it this way: if you put a 400* pan in you lap, would your lap get warm?

I routinely put a paper towel under my fry pan when cooking something that might splatter. If the pan is hot (like searing a steak), the heat will also transfer to the glass through the towel. If this goes long enough, the paper towel may scorch. I replace the towel. If I tried this with a standard coil top, radiant or gas, I'd have flames in a few seconds.

Glass gets hot - but with induction it cools much more quickly than metal or a standard electric as it is the vessel that is making the glass hot.

Years ago, I was helping in a chem lab and the student hands me a hot piece of glass to inspect.... Needless to say, I learned a lesson.

I don't worry about putting towels down - it is so easy to clean that I find it unnecessary. Sometimes I will put a silpat surrounding the burner to capture splatter but in reality it is NBD (no big deal)

Thanks. I'm new to induction, and I guess I made some (incorrect) assumptions from reading the gazillion reviews before I purchased- like thinking the burner would be just warm when I lifted the pan. But you're right a2, it does cool down quicker than electric coil/glass.

The cooktop itself doesn't generate heat, so that's what people are talking about. The PAN, however, is heated. That will transfer to the surface of the cooktop. Turning on a hob without a pan won't create a danger to unaware people in the vicinity. My aunt set her groceries on fire by accidentally turning on a burner!

I've used newspaper and, if I'm cooking at too high a temp, it can scorch. Just depends on your heat level.

Paper scorches at about 425-450ð. The Ray Bradbury title about burning paper at 451ð is probably right. If your pan is so hot that the paper is scorching, do make sure you're not scorching your oil!

What Alex said about the heat of the glass coming from the pot, rather than the induction. My unit shows "H" for too hot to touch and "h" for too hot to lean on. If I move a big hot pot full to a ring that hasn't been in use and is cool, it will warm up from the pot and the "h" will show.

This kind of "hot' is still pretty cool. If it were as hot as radiant under glass, you wouldn't be able to sponge it during cooking. If I spill, I lift the pot and wipe. On radiant one would be steam cooking one's fingers in a very ouchy way.