Does cold water really boil faster than hot water, and if so, why?

Similar questions: cold water boil faster hot.

No, this is an old wives tale Hot water will boil faster than cold water, assuming the same amount of heat is applied to both, and they are both pure water. The cold water will have to absorb more heat in order to reach the boiling point. This will take more time than for the hot water.

Imagine water that has been heated to 210 degrees F, and water from melted ice at 35 degrees F. It will take much less heat to get the heated water to 212 degrees, that to get the cold water up to 212 degrees. I am not sure what the source of this is.

Some people say that cold water is more dense so it can absorb heat faster, but this is just not true. I hope this helps. Manimal's Recommendations How to Boil Water Amazon List Price: $24.95 Used from: $10.79 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 8 reviews) How to Boil Water: A Survival Manual for New Cooks Amazon List Price: $6.00 Used from: $5.99 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 2 reviews) .

No, but... On the face of it is false: in order for cold water to boil, it must first reach the temperature of the hot water. At that point it'll take just as long, plus whatever it took to reach the temperature of the hot water. There is a very small exception: water that was once boiled and allowed to cool a few degrees under the original temperature may be able to boil faster than it did the first time, because a lot of the trapped gas raising the boiling point has been removed.

And hot water from the tap will have more dissolved gas than cold water from the tap. But that's not comparing the same water, and the dissolved gas will make a difference of only a few degrees. It won't nearly as much difference as the difference in temperatures between cold and hot.

Sources: Cecil Adams in The Straight Dope: straightdope.com/classics/a2_101c.html .

It does not. Common sense tells us that hot water will boil faster than cold. This is discussed in detail by a physicist on the Scientific American site here: sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=00... It is indeed an urban legend; the hot water will boil first, exactly as we would expect it to do following the laws of thermodynamics.

Before we get too confident in our common sense approach to thermodynamics, though, let us look at another similar claim; hot water freezes faster than cold water. Again, common sense tells us that it cold water will freeze first. In this second case, however, our common sense is wrong, because in several cases, hot water will freeze faster than cold, called the "Mpemba effect".

For those interested, this effect is discussed here on the University of California at Riverside site: math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/h... So, the net result seems to be: When dealing with physics, rely on your common sense. You will be correct about half the time. Sources: Personal experience, links above .

No I've tested this myself in a high school chemistry lab. It was a long time ago but I'm certain there haven't been significant innovations in water since then. Perhaps this idea is perpetuated because no energy is theoretically saved by boiling hot water since the water heater had to use energy to create hot water.

Saving time is, of course, different from saving energy.

NO Here is a scientific answer to your question! "Cold water does not boil faster than hot water. The rate of heating of a liquid depends on the magnitude of the temperature difference between the liquid and its surroundings (the flame on the stove, for instance).

As a result, cold water will be absorbing heat faster while it is still cold; once it gets up to the temperature of hot water, the heating rate slows down and from there it takes just as long to bring it to a boil as the water that was hot to begin with. Because it takes cold water some time to reach the temperature of hot water, cold water clearly takes longer to boil than hot water does. There may be some psychological effect at play; cold water starts boiling sooner than one might expect because of the aforementioned greater heat absorption rate when water is colder." .

It takes 1 btu per degree for water to reach boiling point of 212 degrees. So if the water is 32 degrees it will take 180 btu's to reach 212 degrees. So if the water is warmer than 32 degrees lets say 100 degrees, it would take 112 btu's to heat it to 212 degrees.

Since 180 is greater than 112, it would take more btu's which takes longer. The reason there is a question is because it takes another 977 btu's to boil it. So it takes so long to boil it that bringing it to 212 degrees doesn't take that long at any degrees compared to btu's.

You are only talking 80 btu's difference out of 1157 btu's.

PLUMBING - I notice that even the cold water starts off hot. " "Does hot water freeze faster than cold water? " "At what temperature does water boil at sea level?" "does hot water or cold water boil faster" "plumbing question... If the same source provides water and pressure to your hot water tank as your cold water, and the" "does cold water boil faster than hot water?

" "why is my hot water from the shower is slower from the cold" "As the water temperature increases in my hot tub, does the temperature actually rise at a faster rate than when cold" "Can I hard-boil and eat accidentally frozen eggs that have cracks in their shells cooking from frozen in salted water. " "I am looking for a connector to hook a cold water faucet and a hot water faucet(outdoor faucets) together.

PLUMBING - I notice that even the cold water starts off hot.

Plumbing question... If the same source provides water and pressure to your hot water tank as your cold water, and the.

Why is my hot water from the shower is slower from the cold.

As the water temperature increases in my hot tub, does the temperature actually rise at a faster rate than when cold.

Can I hard-boil and eat accidentally frozen eggs that have cracks in their shells cooking from frozen in salted water.

I am looking for a connector to hook a cold water faucet and a hot water faucet(outdoor faucets) together.

It's an urban myth - cold water does not boil faster than hot water.

No - and this question got me in a lot of hot water once I'm married to a scientist (chemist/physicist), and I once told him about this urban legend about cold water boiling faster than hot, and asked if it was true. Then he started rubbing his temples. And he put his head down on the counter and started muttering something I couldn't understand.

Then after he gained his composure he reminded me that water boils because its temperature is elevated to its boiling point. Cold water requires a higher temperature elevation than warm water does, and therefore will take longer to heat to boiling. He laughed at me for a couple days on that one.

But I think it's a great question worth asking especially when you hear this claim so much! .

A watched pot... Contrary to the old wives tale cold water will take longer to boil. The physics of boiling water are pretty straightforward. It all comes down to how much heat you can add to the water and hot fast.It takes 1 calorie of heat energey to raise 1 milliliter of water by 1 degree C (1.8 degrees F).

Your heating element (burner or electric element) will put a certain amount of heat into the pot at a certain rate. How fast does depend on temperature, or rather the temperature difference between the heating element and the water. The cold water will have a larger temperature difference and will initially heat somewhat faster, slowing as the water warms.

Once it reaches the starting point of the warmer pot the rate will be the same. The colder pot cannot overcome the fact it has started from a lower temperature and the warmer pot had a head start. There are some very interesting phenomena about going the other way, where hot water can freeze before cold water.

I think that is where the myth about boiling comes from. math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/h... sciam.com/askexpert_question.cfm?article... I guess the only way to prove it to yourself is to try it. You just need a stove, a pot and a stopwatch, a thermometer would be helpful.

Do the experiment yourself and see. SiliconOwl's Recommendations Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time Amazon List Price: $16.00 Used from: $2.45 Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 141 reviews) Do Blue Bedsheets Bring Babies? : The Truth Behind Old Wives' Tales Amazon List Price: $12.95 Used from: $0.76 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 1 reviews) Black Cats and April Fools: Origins of Old Wives Tales and Superstitions in Our Daily Lives Amazon List Price: $14.95 Used from: $9.21 Old Wives' Tales: The Charms and Spells Amazon List Price: $24.95 Wives' Tales, Some Old - Some New - Some Borrowed - Some True Used from: $3.25 .

No, but... In order for cold water to boil, it must first get to the same temperature as hot water. So it takes as long to boil as the hot water, PLUS however long it took to get hot. There is a small caveat I have to stick in here.

Water out of the tap has more dissolved oxygen, which slows down boiling by a tiny amount. So it's possible that if you've boiled the water (driving out the oxygen) and then allowed it to cool, it might boil a bit faster than hot tap water. But that's not really comparing the same things.(Cecil Adams did this query a few years ago, and I cite his answer below).

Sources: straightdope.com/classics/a2_101c.html .

Doesn't make a difference! People tend to believe what they want, but there is scientific proof to back up my claim that there is no difference. A lot of the reason is that cold water absorbs the heat faster due to it being more dense... at first and warmer water is not as dense.

I always use cold water, because it's not sitting in the hot water heater all day and to me, cleaner. Anyway, here is the proof from none other than Scientific American. Q: Is it true cold water boils faster than hot water?

It seems hard to believe, but some people swear that it is so. A: This seemingly simple question continues to generate considerable controversy. Takamasa Takahashi, a physicist at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis.

, attempts a definitive answer: "Cold water does not boil faster than hot water. The rate of heating of a liquid depends on the magnitude of the temperature difference between the liquid and its surroundings (the flame on the stove, for instance). As a result, cold water will be absorbing heat faster while it is still cold; once it gets up to the temperature of hot water, the heating rate slows down and from there it takes just as long to bring it to a boil as the water that was hot to begin with.

Because it takes cold water some time to reach the temperature of hot water, cold water clearly takes longer to boil than hot water does. There may be some psychological effect at play; cold water starts boiling sooner than one might expect because of the aforementioned greater heat absorption rate when water is colder. Also from Kitchen Myths web site: Cold water boils faster than warm water This is another myth that falls into the "suspend the laws of physics" category.

That hasn't happened yet in my kitchen, and if it has in yours then you can probably get on TV. Seriously, to illustrate how ridiculous this idea is without getting into physics and formulas, think of it this way. If you put cold water on to boil, at some time before it boils the water will have become warm.

Let's say it takes time "A" for the water to go from cold to warm. Then after some additional time it will boil - call the time it takes to go from warm to boiling "B". So, the time it takes the cold water to boil is "A + B" and the time it takes the warm water to boil is "B."

If this myth were true then time "A + B" would be less than time "B" and there's just no way this could be no matter how many martinis you've had. A variation of this myth claims that cold water boils faster than warm water if it has been boiled previously and then cooled off. The "explanation" in this case is that the first boiling drives dissolved air out of the water, which is true enough.

However, dissolved air does not affect the boiling of water, at least not in any significant way, so this one is nonsense too. Apparently this myth has its origins in the fact that cold water heats faster than warm water. A pot of water at 40o will reach 60o faster than a pot of 70o water will reach 90o, given the same heat source.

This is because the rate of heat transfer is proportional to the temperature differential between the heat source and the item being heated. But the cooler water will always take longer to boil. It is true, however, that warm water sometimes freezes faster than cold water.

This happens only under very specialized conditions, and has nothing to do with boiling water. Source: Scientific American Note, however, that many people generally avoid using hot tap water for cooking on the theory that the hot water is not as clean from sitting in the water heater or from leaching substances from the pipes (a worry in houses with old plumbing). Sources: experience, Kitchenmyths.com, Scientific American.com Scarecrow's Recommendations Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, New Tenth Edition Amazon List Price: $29.95 Used from: $5.75 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 84 reviews) Betty Crocker's Cooking Basics: Learning to Cook with Confidence (Betty Crocker) Amazon List Price: $24.95 Used from: $9.92 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 36 reviews) .

Of course not Water boils at 212 degrees F or 100 degrees C at sea level. The closer you start to the boiling point, the shorter time it takes to reach it. That assumes you are using the same amount of heat in both cases.

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" "PLUMBING - I notice that even the cold water starts off hot. " "Why does it take more hot water to warm up a bath than cold water to cool it down?" "Can I hard-boil and eat accidentally frozen eggs that have cracks in their shells cooking from frozen in salted water. " "Hw to make water boil with sun.

" "The main cold water presure is fine but our hot water is really low, how can we make it better." "my hot water won't turn off in my bathtub. I have three nobs- one for hot, cold and to turn on the shower. " "I am looking for a connector to hook a cold water faucet and a hot water faucet(outdoor faucets) together" "does washing dishes with hot water or cold water make a difference?

The main cold water presure is fine but our hot water is really low, how can we make it better.

My hot water won't turn off in my bathtub. I have three nobs- one for hot, cold and to turn on the shower.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.