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Boiling Water

Hydrogen Bonding of H20 (Water Aq.) Model
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water
Boiling water for tea, coffee, meals, sanitization or any other reason (hobby, craft, sterilization, manufacturing) etc. etc. The good, the bad * the ugly! 

The Good : At Home

In the microwave (in a glass measuring cup) (my favorite method)
2 cups for 5:55 Hot Boil || 4:56 for 2nd round (preheated measuring cup) || 3:33 for 3rd infusion
My off the cup green tea mug brew stainless brewing infusion device magnificent with 2grams of Amazons finest Numi Gunpowder Green (organic) $17 for 454 grams.

On the Stovetop
After two broken borosilicate kettles we abandoned this method..... I would resume doing it this way if it was more of a fault tolerant activity for others in my home :)

Alternate Indoor Devices
In a boiling electric kettle device or other "kitchen gadget" like rice cookers, pressure cookers, etc. The scope of these exists well outside the realm of this posting owing unto the variety of devices for tea & coffee making that rely on the fundamental principle of imparting heat energy into water as the core functionality.

On the Go (Camping Etc.)

How much fuel to carry, what kind, weight, stove type, conditions likely to be encountered, timing, volume, water quality, there is a lot to consider when you are talking about hot water for hiking/ backpacking/ mountaineering. I learned a lot about this growing up as a Boy Scout, something I rarely talk about because of the association with pedophiles. I similarly avoid talking about my years as an alter boy growing up in a Catholic family for the same reason. I do not want to be associated with organizations that hide perverted sickos, weirdo pedophile rapists or anyone else of such low quality filth. I aspire to be a clean intellectual who promotes the edification of others, positive optimistic ethics, values and virtues. I care about protecting life in many contexts as a scientist, protecting people from pollution, toxic products, toxic foods, every day toxins in and around our homes and work places. Those plastic dryer sheets that everyone uses for example, fuming their clothes with plastic chemicals that are later soaked up by the skin of people who wear clothes dried with plastic dryer sheets.

My Camping Stove

I have a low end cheap steel camping stove the screws onto a standard 16.4oz propane canister. I have had the setup since I was 12 years old. It made it across America with me on an epic 40,000 mi road trip in 2008!

I do not camp anymore (not recently: back + neck injuries), I pseudo-Glamp using our Prius as the "Camper" : Meg shares an interest in one day owning an RV of some kind. I like the idea of a compact, ultra light transformer type made of wood, mylar (MLI) and metal (enamel/ plated/ epoxy) : either DIY or something cheap that is awesome that even a tiny low powered vehicle can pull, hopefully a fully electric one with exceptional single charge range, fast recharging & access to in road charging, and high speed charging 100x more common than gas stations today, preferably with a folding solar roof energy system & micro wind turbine.

Chemistry/ Physics

Water has a specific heat capacity of 1 calorie/ gram deg C = 4.186 joule/gram deg C : an unusually high heat capacity because of the strong hydrogen atomic magnetic boding in the bend water molecules that cling together like high flux density neodymium iron boron magnets. When water freezes it forms a hexagonal (expanded) crystal lattice able to exert remarkable force on a container than confines the liquid water before it freezes. In chemistry hall lectures in colleges around the world a steel pipe is filled with water, the assembly is then closed off tightly with pipe fittings to make a "water pipe bomb", lowed into liquid nitrogen, then a protective bucket is placed on top, the resulting crystalizing water causing the pipe to explode (winter pipe hazard in homes with freezing pipes): visible demonstrating the forces of ice formation.

The Ugly

Unpredictable reality, those real world fuel use figures not emblematic of Hyudai's fuel economy ratings! The physics of boiling water are relatively simple until you hit the variable always changing conditions in the real world. Weather & climate, your location, the time of day, prevailing storm systems or lack thereof, wind, altitude, barometric pressure, water quality, heating method, equipment vs conditions, fuel or energy types, desired boil temp range, quantity of water being boiled, desired rate or throughput. You can summarize by saying things like "in general, under average conditions that I encounter, heating 2 cups of water from 50 deg F to 212 F requires so many oz or grams of this fuel and I am going to be gone for x number of days so I will need x# of oz per day * the number of days = Xdays(Xfuelperday)= this much fuel total fuel (calculated) :: leave 30% spare fuel incase a nasty storm blows in (even happen during summer conditions) : freak weather events are increasingly more common.

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