Scientists have found a more effective way to boil water
Researchers say the new method of boiling water can significantly reduce the energy needed to heat water. They created three different deck modifications, all with different size scales. Together, the new modifications enable a more efficient way to boil water.
The researchers published their findings in the journal advanced materials. Scientists involved in the project include Yongsap Song, a recent MIT graduate, Inlei Wang, a Ford engineering professor, and four others from MIT. What is important to note about this research is that it is at the laboratory level only. As such, more data is needed to expand industrial use.
But that doesn’t reduce the odds of what this technology can bring to the table. According to the research paper, researchers focused heavily on two main factors that help describe the boiling process: heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and critical heat flow (CHF). To find a more efficient way to boil water, the researchers first had to figure out how to better balance these parameters.
verb balancing
HTC and CHF are both necessary to create an efficient boiling water system. But, as I said above, it is difficult to balance the two. Usually, improving one of these parameters makes the other worse. However, after years of work, scientists have found a way to make boiling water more efficient.
“Both parameters are important, but fostering both parameters together is rather difficult because they have intrinsic trade-offs,” Song explained in an article shared on the MIT news site. He says the reason it’s so hard is the bubbles. “If we have a lot of bubbles on the surface of the boil, that means the boiling is very efficient,” he explained.
However, if there are too many bubbles on the surface, they may clump together. When that happens, it forms a vapor-like film over the boiling water. To make a more efficient method of boiling water, the researchers looked at adding dents to the heated surface. This allowed them to control how bubbles formed on the surface by trapping them in indentations.
As it stands, the researchers say the process may work for some small applications. However, it will take more research and application to make this most effective method of boiling water work on an industrial scale. However, if they can get there, it could help save energy in many industries that rely on boiling water.