Find the Perfect Pot for Quick & Hot Cooking

[kevinnn]

Homework Statement

If you want a pot that will got hot as quick as possible and have a cooking surface that stays as hot as possible when heated what should the pot look like?

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

I said that the pot should have a black exterior because it will absorb the heat from the flame very effectively. It should have a black cooking surface as well because the black surface will get a lot hotter and radiate energy to the food very effectively, much more so than a shinny surface. Does this show a conceptual understanding? Is this answer correct? Thanks.

 

[voko]

Gets hots does imply black. But stays hot?

 

[kevinnn]

The "stays hot" part is what concerned me. But it says stays hot when heated. Since heat was constantly being added the black it could keep radiating it away. But with the silver shinny surface, the surface will not get as hot I thought, but it will remain hot much longer because since it is a worse absorber than black it will also be a worse emitter.

 

[voko]

Why would it not get as hot? The "shiny" property does not mean anything about "getting hot", it is about "radiating heat". Note also that pots do not cook food by radiation. Grills do.

 

[kevinnn]

Ohhh ok so the pot should have a black bottom so that it can absorb the heat very quickly and a shiny cooking area so that the heat is not all radiated away but remains in the pot. The shiny part will get hot through the process of conduction but when heated will not radiate all of its energy away so it will remain hot. Is that correct?

 

[voko]

That sounds plausible.

 

[kevinnn]

Ok thank you. I will word it better on my homework.

 

[voko]

Something else, though. In addition to the bottom, the pot has sides. You do not want lose energy by radiating off the sides.

 

[kevinnn]

True, so that should be shiny as well right?.