# Are There Any Liquids Into Which You Can Safely Put Your Hand When They're Boiling? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 24, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006 "2017-01-24T03:06:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/1 "2017-01-24T03:06:22Z")
[This list](http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/boiling-points-fluids-gases-d_155.html) mentions a handful of chemicals that boil at temperatures that would be safe to the human hand; example: Ethyl bromide C2H3Br, which boils at 101F, about the temperature of a hot bath. But then again, I know nothing of chemistry, and for all I know it will cause horrible chemical burns or some other catastrophe. Are there any liquids that a) aren’t dangerous to human skin, and b) boil at a temperature that is safe for human skin? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/2 "2017-01-24T03:18:23Z")
Pentane boils at 96 F. It’s not good for you, but it’s not going to cause acute chemical burns. Butane is 30 F, so it would be colder than icewater in liquid form but not likely to cause acute frostbite. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/3 "2017-01-24T03:23:56Z")
Yeah, with either of those the bigger risk would be from inhaling the fumes. But put a fan behind you and you’d probably be just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/4 "2017-01-24T03:30:06Z")
Acetone boils at 133F and according to Wikipedia is believed to be only slightly toxic - it certainly won’t give you a chemical burn just by touching it. Breathing the fumes is definitely not recommended. 130F to 140F is about the range of home hot water heaters, so not scalding hot, but not exactly comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/5 "2017-01-24T03:32:40Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Pentane boils at 96 F. It’s not good for you, but it’s not going to cause acute chemical burns. Butane is 30 F, so it would be colder than icewater in liquid form but not likely to cause acute frostbite. Being near an open container of either of these and sticking your hand in the boiling liquid _will_ cause severe burns if you are near an open flame. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/6 "2017-01-24T03:49:55Z")
You can briefly put your hand in liquid nitrogen, protected by the [Leidenfrost Effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidenfrost_effect). It will boil vigorously if you do. Don’t try this at home. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/7 "2017-01-24T03:54:04Z")
^ Molten lead, too. Good old Leidenfrost. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/8 "2017-01-24T12:28:33Z")
You can do it with water, if it is at a sufficiently low atmospheric pressure… ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/9 "2017-01-24T12:49:35Z")
I’m with **John DiFool** go high enough into the mountains and you’re golden, just use water. Easy peasy! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/10 "2017-01-24T12:58:14Z")
You could do dichloromethane, but I can tell you from personal experience with skin exposure it will be somewhat painful. A brief, one-time exposure won’t really hurt you. (The problem with DCM is that almost nothing stops it from penetrating, except for laminate-style materials or other massive gloves with no dexterity. It’ll go right through a disposable nitrile glove and into the skin.) ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/11 "2017-01-24T13:30:31Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > Acetone boils at 133F and according to Wikipedia is believed to be only slightly toxic - it certainly won’t give you a chemical burn just by touching it. Breathing the fumes is definitely not recommended. > > 130F to 140F is about the range of home hot water heaters, so not scalding hot, but not exactly comfortable. This is not correct. Skin begins to burn in the range of 110-115F. By 130 you’re going to receive a significant (though probably not catastrophic) burn. Plus, practically speaking, as I read the question, the heat source would need to be the hand. I can’t see any way to keep something above about 95 in the hand, so we need to look at things with boiling points below that. And there will be a host of organics (of varying handling safety) in that range. Aside: The water heater keeps the water at those temps, but there are losses along the way, and for sufficient volume you need a higher temp than is desired so that you can mix in the cold water ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/12 "2017-01-24T13:36:39Z")
When you pour rubbing alcohol (or, just about any alcohol) on your hands, you experience a cooling effect. The alcohol is boiling away taking away the heat from your hands. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/13 "2017-01-24T13:43:32Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > When you pour rubbing alcohol (or, just about any alcohol) on your hands, you experience a cooling effect. The alcohol is boiling away taking away the heat from your hands. I hate to be that guy You are feeling evaporative cooling, but a boiling point is a specific temperature at which the liquid rapidly forms bubbles as it vaporizes. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/14 "2017-01-24T13:51:32Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Being near an open container of either of these and sticking your hand in the boiling liquid _will_ cause severe burns if you are near an open flame. So don’t use an open flame to boil them. And butane’s boiling point is below room temperature, so you won’t even need a dedicated heat source; you just need to remove the container from the freezer. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/15 "2017-01-24T13:56:20Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > When you pour rubbing alcohol (or, just about any alcohol) on your hands, you experience a cooling effect. The alcohol is boiling away taking away the heat from your hands. It’s not boiling, it’s evaporating. Big difference. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/16 "2017-01-24T15:04:48Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > And butane’s boiling point is below room temperature, so you won’t even need a dedicated heat source; you just need to remove the container from the freezer. Tangent: This makes me wonder if there are special uses for liquid butane in Arctic/Antarctic climates that would be impractical elsewhere. Or maybe in space? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/17 "2017-01-24T16:03:25Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > When you pour rubbing alcohol (or, just about any alcohol) on your hands, you experience a cooling effect. The alcohol is boiling away taking away the heat from your hands. The boiling point of ethanol is 173.1F. When you pour water on your hands you experience a cooling effect. It’s quite surprising how cold you feel when you get out of a swimming pool in the desert with air temps of 110F. But the water isn’t boiling off you. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/18 "2017-01-24T17:08:52Z")
Just in terms of temperature, you could try diethyl ether, which boils at 94 F. But there are, well, other considerations. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/19 "2017-01-24T17:19:37Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Tangent: > > This makes me wonder if there are special uses for liquid butane in Arctic/Antarctic climates that would be impractical elsewhere. Or maybe in space? I don’t know of any, but there is an example of the opposite: butane cigarette lighters don’t work very well at low temperatures. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006/20 "2017-01-24T17:23:54Z")
Right. If it’s below 30 F the butane won’t be at the vapor point. All these hydrocarbons need to be vaporized and mixed with oxygen before they burn like we think they should burn. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-liquids-into-which-you-can-safely-put-your-hand-when-theyre-boiling/778006.md?page=2)