Does Distilled Water Boil/Evaporate? Mythbusters Examined

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the claims made by the show Mythbusters regarding the boiling and evaporation properties of distilled water. Participants explore the implications of these claims, particularly in relation to superheating and the behavior of distilled water in different heating scenarios.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested, Exploratory, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the validity of the Mythbusters claim that distilled water does not boil, suggesting it may be a misunderstanding related to superheating.
  • Another participant proposes that the Mythbusters might have meant that distilled water "doesn't boil as easily," indicating a potential nuance in their statement.
  • There is a mention of the phenomenon of superheating, where distilled water in a smooth container can boil violently when disturbed, which may have been part of the Mythbusters experiment.
  • A participant recalls an incident where distilled water exploded in a microwave, implying that the boiling behavior can lead to dramatic results under certain conditions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express uncertainty regarding the Mythbusters' claims, with no consensus reached on whether distilled water boils or evaporates differently than regular water. Multiple interpretations of the show's findings remain present.

Contextual Notes

There is a lack of clarity on the specific episode referenced and the exact context of the Mythbusters experiment, which may affect the understanding of the claims made about distilled water.

kmbop53
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A couple of days ago I was watching the show Mythbusters, which I find the experiments to be kind of hokey, but they did an experiment and they stated that distilled water does not boil. Is this true, if so does this mean that it does not evaporate faster when heated?
 
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I doubt that they found that distilled water doesn't boil...

Can you find which episode it is from the list on here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythbusters (Scroll down to the very bottom see each season in detail)

Edit: I think what you are thinking of is superheating. If you put water in a very smooth container and microwave it, it will boil because there aren't any places for bubbles to form. Of course as soon as you disturb the liquid, it violently boils.

I guess they were testing to see if distilled water was at a greater risk to superheat than regular tap water.
 
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They must have said "Doesn't boil as easily" or something...
 
thanx that's quite interesting, you i think that they were talking about that, after a while it just exploded all over the microvave.
 

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