Would it just turn into a pressurized container full of steam? Would the water stay water but just like, really hot?
In: 98
With any question of the form “what would happen if …” the answer is usually _it depends_. In this case, it depends on how much pressure the water was under when you put it in the container, how much heat you apply to the water, how strong the container is, and what the container is made from.
As the temperature of the water increases, the pressure inside the container will also increase. If the pressure gets high enough, it will eventually be strong enough to break the container. Very high temperatures may also weaken the container, making it easier for the pressure to break it.
When the container breaks, it’s likely that it will either explode or take off like a rocket. The temperature of the water at that point will probably be far above boiling; the water is only still a liquid because the container was sealed. As soon as it has somewhere to go, all that water will immediately change into a gas and rush out of the crack or hole that formed. If the container is weak enough, then when a hole forms the force of all that water vapor rushing out of it will tear the hole bigger and bigger and just tear the entire container to pieces. However, if the container is strong enough to resist that tearing, then the water vapor will still rush out that hole, but because it’s all accelerating in the same direction it will push the container the other direction, probably very very quickly.
If you want to see a fun illustration of this, I recommend looking up clips from the Mythbusters episode about water heaters.
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