• Question: Why does water make a noise when it boils?

    Asked by n3rdy to Gopal, Becky on 28 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Rebecca Cook

      Rebecca Cook answered on 28 Jun 2013:


      When you boil water you are transferring energy to the water molecules to heat them up. Some of the this energy is lost as sound energy caused by the molecules (and the pan) vibrating.

    • Photo: Gopal Ramchurn

      Gopal Ramchurn answered on 28 Jun 2013:


      When you boil water, you basically give lots of energy to the water molecules and these start vibrating and moving around. They knock against the wall of the pan and make some noise as a result. Also, the bubbles of air that get pushed out of the water as it boils (and expands these bubbles) explode as they arrive at the top.. making even more noise.

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