How is it that you can actually see and hear the difference between hot and cold water?
October 11th, 2009 Posted by: admin
Like when it’s in a cup, it looks almost white if it’s hot. And in winter time, when i have to leave my faucet running 15 seconds before it gets warm, I can actually hear when the water turns warm. Could it be as simple as the pipes being cold or hot? I know about molecules moving faster and slower in water, can we actually see and hear those?
By: mell_mell013
By: mell_mell013
Tags: Hot And Cold, Molecules, Winter Time
October 14th, 2009 at 05:34
Hot water running through your faucet heats up the parts of the valve. As the washer and such expand, they constrict the pathway the water is flowing through. Thus the water flowing sounds different, much as it would if you otherwise restrict the opening it travels through. You MIGHT also hear pipes in the walls rubbing against wall studs and such as the pipes heat up and expand (and again as they cool down after you turn off the water).
As for the appearance, the hot water has dissolved air in it. Think about adding sugar to tea. A teaspoon of sugar dissolves quite easily in hot tea. In iced tea, it takes more stirring. Hot water dissolves things more readily. Actually, you aren’t seeing dissolved air, you’re seeing tiny bubbles in the water. As light bends differently in air and water, light passing through the water and air bubbles is scattered, making it appear white.