boiling an egg....

[Sir_Crashalot]

Yes, it's physics time boys and girls. Tonight I was watching a program on National Geographic Channel about submarines. In this program a professor told something about the boilingpoint of water. In normal atmosphere this is, as we all know, 100 degrees Celsius. In a vacuum however it's only 20 degrees Celsius. So here is the question. If I had the right equipment (a large vacuumpump) could I boil an egg in boiling water in a vacuum? I think it's faster to create a vacuum than to heat water up to 100 degrees Celsius thus saving energy.

Carlo (wished I finished school...)

[Jeff.Guo]

No, the lowered boiling point is only resultant from the lower external pressure on the liquid, thus lowering its vapor pressure.

If you want to "cook" an egg, you'll need to supply the needed energy, heat, to denature its proteins.

[WebbPA]

You're still heating the egg to only 20

[machineman9]

Well the human body (or the fluids in it) are said to boil when you reach a certain altitude, owing to the lack in pressure. For that reason, I am guessing it may be possible.

If you had a decent enough pump and some way to warm the egg at all, then it seems extremely possible.

[Jeff.Guo]

Well the human body (or the fluids in it) are said to boil when you reach a certain altitude, owing to the lack in pressure. For that reason, I am guessing it may be possible.

If you had a decent enough pump and some way to warm the egg at all, then it seems extremely possible.

You die from the bubbles in your blood stream, not from excessive heat.

[machineman9]

Well the human body (or the fluids in it) are said to boil when you reach a certain altitude, owing to the lack in pressure. For that reason, I am guessing it may be possible.

If you had a decent enough pump and some way to warm the egg at all, then it seems extremely possible.

You die from the bubbles in your blood stream, not from excessive heat.

I thought it seemed a bit dramatic 

[Sir_Crashalot]

Thanks for the explanation.

Carlo

[TacitBlue]

Now think about all of those cheesy space shows and movies in which someone gets sucked out of a space craft and either holds their breath and survives or dies gasping for air.

[Meck]

You can observe this fact easily e.g. by boiling an egg in the mountains (all winter-campers will know what I'm talking about). The water will boil at a lower temperature than 100

[snippyfsxer]

Now think about all of those cheesy space shows and movies in which someone gets sucked out of a space craft and either holds their breath and survives or dies gasping for air.

This might seem nerdy, but I think in the movie 2001, when the guy blows himself into the airlock without his helmet, it is theoretically posible that he would survive because the airlock immediately repressurizes.

[Felix/FFDS]

IT makes for interesting reading, but I would not like to be the one to test that theory...

[WebbPA]

Dave Bowman: Alright, HAL. I'll go in through the emergency airlock.
HAL: Without your space helmet, Dave, you're going to find that rather difficult.
Dave Bowman: HAL, I won't argue with you anymore. Open the doors.
HAL: Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

HAL miscalculated.

"2001:A Space Odyssey" at IMDb

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Bowman reenters the ship, he is exposed to vacuum for no more than 10 seconds before operating the repressurization valve. Scientific evidence shows that this would indeed be survivable without grievous harm, notwithstanding the sensational depictions in other movies.

Kubrick got it right.