Pretty much the title. Chemically speaking what’s going on when this happens?
In: Chemistry
Water boils at 100 degrees C. Heated oil can get WAY hotter before either catching fire or evaporating…
If you add water… well, water and oil don’t mix. Furthermore the water just gets hot rapidly… so fast it basically hits boiling temperature almost immediately. Also since hot things expand, and boiling water is turning into a gas, it REALLY expands. This is happening as the water is getting under the oil since it’s been poured in and water is denser… so the water under the oil is expanding and throws the oil around. Oil, which I will remind you, is on fire or borderline so.
Flying oil is going to have more surface area exposed to air, and that means more opportunity to be in contact with oxygen which means MORE FIRE. Boiling oil is probably already on fire, or on the cusp of it. Being sprayed into the air helps the fire.
So by adding water to an oil fire, you’ve actually made the fire explode upwards and get bigger.
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