Question based on real experience

[zinedine_88]

Main Question or Discussion Point

question...based on real experience!!!

Hi everyone

OK... I was frying eggs and was using an old frying pan with a metal handle without any protection so when the pan get hotter and hotter so does the handle.


When I finished using it i tried to cool it down by pouring water on top of it. What happened was that as I poured water on the pan ( the part which was evidently the HOTTEST) the heat transfered to the handle which I was holding and eventually I burned myself.


Why did that happen?

An easier way for you to picture what happened(in case u don't get it from my description above) is to imagine that you have a rod which is extremely hot on one side and cold on the other one. As we try to cool down the hot end of the rod the heat is transfered to the cold end immediately ( or as quickly as we awe cooling the hot end down).

Why that is.


I thought that as we cool down the hot end of the rod, the heat will be absorbed by the water and steam will be formed.

I DID not expect that as I cool down the hot end , I am going to get burned by holding the end with lower temperature.

Please explain to me :)

Thank you

 

[mathman]

Educated guess: The heat from the hot end diffused to the cold end during the cooling process. If you want to experiment, try holding the cold end for a while without cooling the hot end. If it takes longer to get too hot, my guess is wrong.

 

[Borek]

Less educated guess from practice: the longer you hold the hot frying pan, the hotter it SEEMS to be, but in fact its temperature doesn't change. It was hot enough to burn you if hold for long from the very beginning.

 

[zinedine_88]

i don't think that can be an answer because i held it for 2 minutes...when suddenly got burned 2 seconds after i poured down water on the hot end...

 

[zinedine_88]

there was a sudden increase in temperature

 

[Borek]

Wasn't it the moment that you had to keep it stronger then before? And you have tightened the grasp?