STORRS, CT—A recently published study from the University of Connecticut just may have debunked the myth that "a watched pot never boils." The study, which cost over $500,000 and took six months to complete, set out to learn once and for all what conditions must be met for boiling to occur.
Geoff Carter, a graduate student of theoretical physics who participated in the experiment, shared some of his impressions from the work: "We all had different ideas of what the results might be, but nothing could have prepared us for what we discovered." That discovery was that, all other conditions being equal, a pot will boil while being monitored in the same amount of time as a pot that is unmonitored. "This overturns nearly everything we thought we knew about boiling," Carter, 26, added.
"Whether watched by the naked eye or recorded with cameras, monitored constantly or checked on every once in a while, the results were consistent," explained lead author on the paper, Dr. Richard Banfield. "As expected, the time to boil increased with an increase in volume of water used in the pot or a decrease in original temperature of the water, but we made some startling discoveries as well," the physics professor of 30 years elaborated.
"We started to notice that watching was not a necessary factor in boiling, but that water and heat did seem critical. I know it sounds crazy, but no amount of ignoring or watching could induce boiling in an empty pot on the stove, a full pot on the table, or anything in between." Banfield, 64, continued, "When we set out to learn more about boiling, we never imagined how much of a complete paradigm shift we would encounter, but the scientific community—and the world—will surely be better off for it." Banfield added that he and his team hope to expand their research to other altitudes and hemispheres. "Maybe we'll even try copper pots."
Watch for the complete published study in the next issue of Science.