Chris Higgins
How to Boil Water
by Chris Higgins - January 15, 2010 - 2:48 PM

Did you know that boiling water is just regular water that has been made very hot? Well, you’ll learn that and more in the following real YouTube videos explaining the specific processes and techniques you’ll need to start boiling your own water.

How to Boil Water – Howcast

This video assumes you have access to a stove or hotplate, a pot, a lid, and yes, some water. It also helpfully explains what that old “watched pot never boils” thing is about.

How NOT to Boil Distilled Water in a Microwave

Microwaves allow you to do some amazing things, like creating superheated distilled water that appears to be in a non-boiling state (as no bubbles are escaping). Now, in order to do this you need distilled water — the impurities in regular water cause it to bubble normally. This thing of putting distilled water in a microwave is super-duper dangerous, as the water will immediate froth and “boil” when it is disturbed after removal from the microwave. Don’t do it. Instead, check out the following three videos for examples of how this looks.

How to Boil Water Using a Fresnel Lens and the Sun

If you have a gigantic Fresnel lens and a sunny day, you’re in luck — you’ll be boiling water in no time. (See also: making a solar still using the same huge Fresnel lens.

How to Boil Water Using Rocks and Bark

A willow bark cup, an outdoor fire, and some water — now you’re boiling water! This is genuinely useful survival advice.

How to Boil Water – the Autism Problem

For some people, boiling water is a serious challenge — no joke. Adults living with disabilities (in this case, severe autism) can have a very hard to time doing something that’s considered easy by the rest of us, like boiling water. In this video, an autistic woman demonstrates the process. It’s hard to watch, but also a fascinating look at the reality of living with autism.

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Comments (7)

  1. when watching the autism video, I notied all the times the video had been played with to shorten it. I had no idea that people with autism go through this. I often wonder what goesthrough a persons head, or what itmight be like to be a certian person due to their experience, but Inever stopped to think about the one with mental retardations of sorts. It is a sad thing to see, but always enlightening. The rest of he article was interestingm, but I think maybe mental floss ought to think about doing a series in regards to the life of autistic people, and how difficult it is for many of them to do the things we see as time wasting or no brainers, such as in this case, boiling water.

    posted by Jeremiah on 1-15-2010 at 4:09 pm

  2. ya know for someone who is just a year from earning his bachelors degree, I sure cant spell or type worth a dang

    posted by Jeremiah on 1-15-2010 at 4:11 pm

  3. Re: Distilled water exploding…
    I microwaved tap water for hot cocoa and when I put the mix in, the whole thing exploded on me! I once read an article in mental floss that said the odds of that happening are so low it’s basically regarded as an urban legend. But all I’ve decided is water is CRAZZZZY!

    posted by Nicole on 1-15-2010 at 4:57 pm

  4. Mr. Higgins, your section on boiling water in a microwave is a little misleading. The reason it may be easier with distilled water is because, like you say, it will have less impurities than tap water, but tap water itself can still superheat.

    The major factor is the roughness of the container the water is being heated in. The reason is because the energy required for heterogeneous nucleation (accumulation of a bubble on a jagged container surface or particle of dirt) is less than the energy needed for homogeneous nucleation (which would occur in a very smooth container like glass). Nicole, this is why the water exploded on you, because the superheated water suddenly had millions of heterogeneous nucleation sites for water vapor to form at.

    In our chemistry labs we would often boil distilled water in glass containers, but you always had to use a “boiling chip,” usually a small piece of volcanic rock, so that heterogeneous nucleation could occur.

    posted by Yams on 1-15-2010 at 5:23 pm

  5. I have had water that I re-heated in the microwave boil over on me when I put the spoon in the cup. Not volcanic, thankfully, but it definately boiled over.

    posted by mrs.arno on 1-15-2010 at 8:55 pm

  6. The main problem with the video, “How to Boil Water the Easy Way,” is that Amanda Baggs (star and producer of the video) doesn’t actually have autism. Ms. Baggs developed typically and even attended college. She didn’t regress until after extensive drug use and psychological problems in her teen years. She does not fulfill the diagnostic requirement of DSM-IV (particularly onset of developmental delays before age 3)and does not provide accurate insight into the autism experience. Certainly Ms. Baggs’ outward symptoms may look similar to those of persons with autism, but it is regrettable that she presents her experience as being in any way typical of persons with autism.

    posted by momadvocate on 1-16-2010 at 4:43 am

  7. How rude of momadvocate to make assumptions about Amanda Baggs or slander her with accusations of drug use. That’s just mean, and totally uncalled for. There are many different ways that autism presents itself within the spectrum of neurological development. Not all autism needs a \classic\ regression at age 3 and there is no \authenticity\ prize for excluding anyone from the spectrum.

    For those who are genuinely interested in learning from Amanda about her own life, and how she navigates in the world, please see her own website:

    http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?page_id=294

    posted by sarah on 1-21-2010 at 8:02 am

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