Boiling water with your hand

created by Tannor
(thing) by Tannor (2.3 y) (print)   (I like it!) Thu Feb 01 2001 at 1:49:46
Something you wouldn't think is possible, but can be done.

First, fill a flask with water, about 1/10 of the way full. Bring the water to a full boil for about thirty seconds. Now cork the bottle securely. The water should stop boiling as soon as the flask is sealed off. Now, wait until the flask cools down a bit (unless you really, really like burning yourself), invert the flask, and put as much as your palm as possible onto the flask. The water will resume boiling!!
(idea) by k_hokanson (1.8 mon) (print)   (I like it!) Sat Sep 08 2001 at 23:58:49
In case you are wondering how this happens, it's because when the flask was corked, the steam that was generated by the boiling of the water had taken the place of any air that had been in the flask. As the flask cools, the steam condenses back to water, leaving a (partial) vacuum inside the flask. This lowers the boiling point of the water inside to less than normal body temperature. I don't know what the acutal numbers would be, for the temperature and pressure, and i leave that to you to find out
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