Cold Water Boils Faster? No!

Most recent answer: 10/22/2007

Q:
If hot water freezes faster than room temperature water, does cold water boil faster than room temperature water?
- jason laudun (age 12)
metairie,la
A:
Jason -

You’re right that under some conditions, hot water can freeze faster than cold water does. This phenomenon is known as the Mpemba effect, and there are a lot of different guesses as to why it happens. For more information on this, check out the answer: .

This is a special effect that occurs only for freezing, and it is not what most people would expect to happen. Boiling works just like you’d probably expect - hot water will boil more quickly than cold water. If you want, you can try this on your stove at home to be sure.

-Tamara

(published on 10/22/2007)