Why is it that if I leave temp high, water alone boils without spilling out of the pot, but if I add something to it (like pasta, chai mix, etc) and leave it on high, it eventually boils over and spills everywhere?
In: Chemistry
Boiling those things in water causes ingredients to leech into the water, like starch from pastas.
Those added things increase the surface tension on the water allowing bubbles to form and not immediately pop. The bubbles build up on top of each other until they flow over the side of the pot.
Regular water doesn’t form bubbles very well and they ussually pop quickly. So the bubbles pop before they can build up.
Water doesn’t boil over. Steam creates bubbles but the bubbles quickly collapse.
However, add stuff that changes the physical properties of the water and the bubbles can persist and stack on each other until the water “boils over” the pot.
There are various ways to favour bubble formation.
At the macro level, lower surface tension or higher viscosity both work (soap vastly decreases surface tension, pasta starch increases viscosity without much changing tension).
At the micro level you might want to Google “micellar aggregation” which demonstrates how amphiphilic molecules like soap help support structures like bubbles in water. In brief: amphiphilic molecules are long rods with one end attracted to water and the other repelled, they can line up on the surface of water with their hydrophobic arse in the air. A thin bubble surface can have these molecules on both sides of the surface and collapsing the bubble forces the hydrophobic ends back into the water which is energetically unfavourable.
so when water boils it turns into steam and takes up more space. adding stuff like pasta or chai mix makes it bubble more. the bubbles can’t escape fast enough and boom it spills. chemistry at work man
when water boils it has bubbles forming at the bottom that rise to the surface. when you add something like pasta those bubbles get trapped which makes the water spill over. it’s like a bubble party that goes outta control. it’s fun to watch just not so fun to clean up
so basically when water boils it creates bubbles right? when you add stuff like pasta those bubbles get trapped and can’t escape. so it builds up pressure and boom overflow. just make sure to watch it next time or you’ll end up with a messy kitchen
water boils over because when you add stuff like pasta it creates bubbles that trap steam and push water up and out. it’s like a party in your pot and everyone wants to jump out. if you leave it alone it just chill in there but add things and it goes wild. best way to avoid chaos is to lower the temp or cover it lightly. cooking is like balancing act right
dude it’s like this wild party in the pot. when you just heat water it bubbles chill. but toss in pasta or chai and it’s like a dance floor full of people. they bump into each other creating way more bubbles and they gotta go somewhere so they spill over. less crowded pot means less chaos for water.
so when water is boiling it’s like a dance party in the pot. when you add stuff like pasta it’s like inviting too many people. they push each other around and make bubbles that overflow the pot. so it gets wild and messy. if you keep it on high you gotta watch it or it’ll be a party spill all over your stove.
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