Tanishk says if the gas flame is turned up very high, water will get hotter than usual — say 110°C…
Tanishk says if the gas flame is turned up very high, water will get hotter than usual — say 110°C — and only then truly boil. His sister says water boils at one fixed temperature, however high the flame. Who is right?
Who do you think is right? Pick one.
The answer: His sister is right
Why
Tanishk's link makes sense from everyday experience — a bigger flame usually means things heat up more, so 'hotter flame, hotter water' feels like it should just keep going. But water has a fixed ceiling: at sea level it boils at 100°C, and once it reaches that point, extra flame doesn't push the temperature any higher — it just makes the water boil away faster, as bubbles and steam, while the liquid itself stays pinned at 100°C. The heat that would have raised the temperature instead goes into turning water into vapour. Test: put a cooking thermometer in a pot at a rolling boil, then turn the flame up further — the reading stays at 100°C, the pot just steams more furiously and empties quicker. His sister is right: water boils at one fixed temperature, and a stronger flame boils it away faster, not hotter.
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