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Energy Write: Site Footnote *7
Try this phase change energy experiment. Put a chair in front of your stove as this will take about 20 minutes and you must be present to win. Place a pot one-quarter full of tap water on your stove. Place a candy making thermometer in the water, clipped to the side of the pot and not touching the bottom of the pot. Proceed to heat the water to its boiling point. You will notice that the temperature rises steadily to about 212 F (100 C) [+/- depending on altitude and other stuff] as you come to the boiling point. Turn down the heat enough to maintain boiling. Wait a few minutes and note the temperature. Note the rate of boiling is 'gentle'. Now turn up the heat to full. Wait a few minutes and note the temperature. You should see the rate of boil becomes much more rolling and aggressive. Even though the heat input changes substantially, the water temperature remains relatively constant. That extra heat is going into phase change of liquid to vapor. Please use pot-holders and common sense. EnergyWrite.com