# Boiling water **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2006, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827 "2006-11-02T06:21:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/1 "2006-11-02T06:21:37Z")
Can the tempature of water go above 212 f? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/2 "2006-11-02T06:29:52Z")
Water is commonly found above 212f… it is called steam. If you are referring to water in a liquid state above 212f, then yes, microwave ovens can superheat a cup of water above 212f. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/3 "2006-11-02T06:31:51Z")
[QUOTE=copperwindow] Can the tempature of water go above 212 f? [/QUOTE] water boils at various temperatures depending upon the pressure. At low pressure it boils at a lower temperature and at high pressure at high temperature. At normal atmospheric pressure, 14.7 lb/in[sup]2[/sup] liquid water can’t go above 212 F. Water vapor can be at higher temperatures. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/4 "2006-11-02T06:39:26Z")
And to add to what **The Controvert** wrote about superheated water [there is this.](http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/superheating.html#when) Water can also be supercooled below 32 F if it is very still. Apparently there needs to be just a little turbulence in order to have the normal boiling and freezing points hold. ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/5 "2006-11-02T06:50:50Z")
[QUOTE=The Controvert] Water is commonly found above 212f… it is called steam. [/QUOTE] This statement is incorrect as water is, by definition, in it’s liquid state. Is there a limit to water you can superheat water to? ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/6 "2006-11-02T07:11:55Z")
[QUOTE=copperwindow] This statement is incorrect as water is, by definition, in it’s liquid state. Is there a limit to water you can superheat water to? [/QUOTE] I used to teach the “Principles of Steam Generation” many years ago. Yes there is an endpoint, but I don’t recall what it is. I think it’s around 1300 degrees fahrenheit, but that’s a dim memory and I’m not going to guarantee it. ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/7 "2006-11-02T07:35:23Z")
Well then let me rephrase my original question. If I stick my thermometer in a pot of boiling water and it reads 223 f, is it time for me to get a new thermometer? ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/8 "2006-11-02T07:53:38Z")
[QUOTE=copperwindow] Well then let me rephrase my original question. If I stick my thermometer in a pot of boiling water and it reads 223 f, is it time for me to get a new thermometer? [/QUOTE] Not necessarily. If you are below sea level, there is unusually high atmospheric pressure, or you are on the surface of a planet with more gravity, then water will boil hotter. See above. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/9 "2006-11-02T09:35:24Z")
[QUOTE=copperwindow] This statement is incorrect as water is, by definition, in it’s liquid state. [/quote] I don’t think so. The colloquial definition of water may be that of the liquid state, but you’re asking a scientific question, so the formal defintion would apply, wherein steam is water (as is ice). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/10 "2006-11-02T09:38:35Z")
[QUOTE=Eleusis] Not necessarily. If you are below sea level, there is unusually high atmospheric pressure, or you are on the surface of a planet with more gravity, then water will boil hotter. [/QUOTE] Am I right in thinking you mean by the graped comment that a planet with higher gravity would typically have higher atmospheric pressure at the surface? Because on a planet with higher gravity and (for whatever reason)little or no atmosphere, water will \*\*not \*\* boil hotter. ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/11 "2006-11-02T11:21:57Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] water boils at various temperatures depending upon the pressure. At low pressure it boils at a lower temperature and at high pressure at high temperature. At normal atmospheric pressure, 14.7 lb/in[sup]2[/sup] liquid water can’t go above 212 F. Water vapor can be at higher temperatures. [/QUOTE] This is why cooking in the mountains takes longer. On top of a mountain, with lower atmospheric pressure, water boils at, say, 200F, which means your rice needs to cook longer. I’d then guess that if you are in a submarine (hmmm…? What are the internal pressures of those things?) or maybe at the bottom of a very deep pit the water will boil at slightly higher, say 215F. -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/12 "2006-11-02T11:24:39Z")
[QUOTE=Tomcat] This is why cooking in the mountains takes longer. On top of a mountain, with lower atmospheric pressure, water boils at, say, 200F, which means your rice needs to cook longer. [/QUOTE] In some cases, cooking is difficult or impossible, because water needs to do more than bubble vigorously in order to cook the food - it needs to actually get _hot_. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/13 "2006-11-02T12:52:38Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] In some cases, cooking is difficult or impossible, because water needs to do more than bubble vigorously in order to cook the food - it needs to actually get _hot_. [/QUOTE] If you are an altitude of 10000 ft. water boils at about 150 F if my standard atmosphere calculator and boiling point curves are accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/14 "2006-11-02T13:45:43Z")
[QUOTE=Tomcat] I’d then guess that if you are in a submarine (hmmm…? What are the internal pressures of those things?) or maybe at the bottom of a very deep pit the water will boil at slightly higher, say 215F. [/QUOTE] This is precisely what a pressure cooker is for. Pressurise the water and you can get it to stay liquid at a higher temperature; and higher temperatures cook things quicker. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/15 "2006-11-02T13:54:15Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] If you are an altitude of 10000 ft. water boils at about 150 F if my standard atmosphere calculator and boiling point curves are accurate. [/QUOTE] Thanks… hmmm… about 65C - so it might work OK for something like pasta or instant soup, but cooking raw proteins (say, boiling an egg, or poaching a piece of fish) at that temperature is not going to work very well. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/16 "2006-11-02T13:56:41Z")
[QUOTE=copperwindow] If I stick my thermometer in a pot of boiling water and it reads 223 f, is it time for me to get a new thermometer? [/QUOTE] Was it salty water? ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/17 "2006-11-02T13:58:42Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Thanks… hmmm… about 65C - so it might work OK for something like pasta or instant soup, but cooking raw proteins (say, boiling an egg, or poaching a piece of fish) at that temperature is not going to work very well. [/QUOTE] Yeah. In order to get enough fuel to cook that long you would probably need to clear the brush off a couple of acres. And I think sausage, for example, needs to be hotter than that in the interior to be safe. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/18 "2006-11-02T14:01:04Z")
[QUOTE=Tomcat] I’d then guess that if you are in a submarine (hmmm…? What are the internal pressures of those things?) or maybe at the bottom of a very deep pit the water will boil at slightly higher, say 215F. [/QUOTE] Doing some extrapolation from [this chart](http://www.biggreenegg.com/boilingPoint.htm) and from [this cite](http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/SanjeevMenon.shtml) I get the boiling point at the lowest point on earth being about 215F. You get about 1 degree increase each 500ft below sea level, the shores of the Dead Sea are about 1300ft below sea level. If you have a strong high pressure system over you, that may add another degree or two. If you’re reading 223F, using plain water, on the surface of the planet, you need a new thermometer. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/19 "2006-11-02T14:19:51Z")
[QUOTE=Tomcat] I’d then guess that if you are in a submarine (hmmm…? What are the internal pressures of those things?) [/QUOTE] Unless something has gone terribly wrong, 1 atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827/20 "2006-11-02T14:34:51Z")
[QUOTE=Tomcat] On top of a mountain, with lower atmospheric pressure, water boils at, say, 200F [/QUOTE] ISTR that early explorers (Lewis & Clark?) used the temperature of boiling water as a crude sort of altimeter. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water/378827.md?page=2)