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
A thin layer of water can *very* briefly protect you from hot temperatures by absorbing the energy and evaporating before the heat transfer reaches your skin. For an object with very little residual heat like a candle wick, this is sufficient.
A much more massive metal pan has vastly more heat to give, and the large volume of water only serves to conduct it to your hands more efficiently.
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