Why does sugar break down so much faster in a hot drink than it does in a cold one?
In: Chemistry
Imagine things dissolving in a liquid like people at a party. If it’s too crowded on one side they’ll move a bit to get more space, and if someone else moves into their space they’ll move over a bit, and eventually the party will reach some kind of uniform spacing between all people as they move around individually.
The temperature of the water is like how much room there is versus how many people there are. If the water is cold the room is pretty packed, and if the water is hot the room has lots of space!
If we suddenly drop sugar into the water, it’s like a bunch of people arriving to this party. If there’s lots of space it won’t take too long before they all spread out and find a place of their own to hang out, but if the party is crowded it might take a long time where there’s a clump of people near the door, and a lot of jostling before they can actually spread out through the party.
Remember, unlike a party though, cold means many people close together, hot means big and spread out.
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