Eli5: Why is that water doesn’t evaporate immediately on a very hot surface?
In: Physics
It’s called the leidenfrost effect. Basically as soon as the water touches the surface, a tiny portion turns into stean almost instantly, and that steam then forms an insulati layer that the rest of the water droplet sits on, preventing it from touching the hot surface directly.
The same effect also works with liquid nitrogen, and it’s why a persons hand can **briefly** come into contact with liquid nitrogen without receiving freezer burns
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