Writes our submitter in Philadelphia: “We do not have air-conditioned hallways in my building, so there’s been an ongoing debate on my floor about how open the hallway windows need to be for maximum airflow.” Suddenly…SCIENCE!
related: A/C, windows, and Kelvin’s law of thermodynamics
31 responses so far ↓
#1
Red Delicious
Call Mythbusters, done deal.
Aug 19, 2013 at 5:45 pm rating: 90
#2
Ely North
The only part of this that interests me is “all orifice conditions in your fluid model.”
Aug 19, 2013 at 6:27 pm rating: 90
#3
Neeners
“Simple” and “physics” should never be used in the same sentence.
Aug 19, 2013 at 6:41 pm rating: 90
#4
misscris
Well, actually Neeners – there is a comma between love and your neighbour – so they mean love from your neighbour (sorry for being a pedant! lol)
Aug 19, 2013 at 7:41 pm rating: 90
#5
Kacey Hammer
Reminds me of something my mom said before she passed away. During our visits, we would hang on every word she said, trying to soak up all her wisdom. The conversation turned to cooking. My mom said, “you know why water boils when you add salt, right? It’s just science.” At that she rolled her wheelchair away to emphasize the wisdom bomb she just dropped. OK then.
Aug 19, 2013 at 8:05 pm rating: 90
#6
AP
Not as surprising as you’d think, non-science people generally don’t have graph paper lying around for random notes.
Aug 19, 2013 at 10:40 pm rating: 90
#7
Dr. Sheldon Cooper
The model only works for spherical chickens in a vacuum, I’ve heard.
Aug 20, 2013 at 9:40 am rating: 90
#8
wait..what?
And here is your science.
The equation for boiling point elevation is dT = KbM where dT is the temperature change, Kb is the ebullioscopic constant, and M is Molality of the solution. The Molality is equal to the moles of solute (salt) divided by the kilograms of solvent (water). By increasing the amount of moles (amount) of salt, you increase the temperature change.
The Kb of water is 0.512. To raise the boiling point of 1 liter of water (1kg) by 2oC, you would have to add nearly 230 grams of table salt. The amount of salt you add when cooking (such as pasta) doesn’t really change the temperature by much at all, its more for flavor.
Boiled down, it doesn’t make water boil faster. It increases the temperature of the water but not by much.
Aug 20, 2013 at 9:58 am rating: 90
#9
Raichu
Or, you know, just get a fan for your own apartment…
Aug 20, 2013 at 11:20 am rating: 90
#10
spacenomyous
trojan man!!!
Aug 20, 2013 at 2:34 pm rating: 90
#11
Poltergeist
Is there science I can use decipher what the hell that word is after “Hot Air”?
Aug 20, 2013 at 5:28 pm rating: 90
#12
Tesselara
Passive-Aggressive Physics. Best. Thing. Ever.
Aug 20, 2013 at 6:06 pm rating: 90
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