Why is it that if we wet our fingers before putting out a candle, we don’t get burned, but if we grab a hot pan out of the oven with a wet oven mitt, we get burned?

Question

Why is it that if we wet our fingers before putting out a candle, we don’t get burned, but if we grab a hot pan out of the oven with a wet oven mitt, we get burned?

In: Physics

Answer 1

Heat v. temperature, and amount of contact time

the candle has a lot of heat but very little thermal energy and you snuff out the reaction instantly. The pan has lots of stored heat and you’re in contact for a longer time. More or less.