Do you know the answer to the Riddle of The Egg?

Question

The Riddle of The Egg is thus:
When people boil eggs, they usually use a saucpan with enough water to cover the egg. If you are boiling two eggs at the same time (and therefore less water) do you use the same amount of energy as you would when boiling one egg?????

Answer 1

hmmm, interesting, I should imagine it's related in some way to the specific heat capacity of an egg vs that of water, as well as the entropic changes involved with the egg yoke and egg white denaturing....need to think more about this

edit...I don't see the full relevance of this equilibrium argument, it merely describes the time taken for heat to permeate the egg, nothing about itsd heat capacity relative to water. That all the water is the same temp is due to its thermal conductivity. Granted in a practical environment time is a factor, because you would be losing heat to the environment from the system whilst keeping the water boiling. I think we need to lay down some assumptions. What kind of egg are we delaing with and is it to be hard or soft boiled (changes of state)

Answer 2

Wow, these people didn't read the question very well. It would take more energy. It is obvious that it takes a good amout more time for the temperature inside the egg to reach equilibrium with the water outside the egg. Now this may not be the desired temperature (212 deg F)inside the egg to hardboil, but regardless it makes clear the fact that it requires more energy to heat the egg itself than water of the same volume. Therefore, when you put another egg into the same amount of water you are adding that much more mass to the volume of water thus requiring more energy to heat.

Answer 3

both of the eggs are using the same water energy so thus the water heat and energy is not divided amunst the eggs The water heat does not heat up one of the eggs at one time then switch to the other eggs it heats both of them at the same time THUS-it would not effect the eggs at all how long you cook them or the water level inside of the pan because the water energy is just there.. the eggs could decide not to use the energy but that is impossible because the eggs aren't an intellectial beings to decide how much energy they take in only the eggs aren't intellectial beings because they cannot alter how much energy taken in thus they are reffered to as "its" so the "its" cannot take all the energy to itself just as water energy isn't an intellectial being and will be refurred as an "it" and so "it" can't direct it's energy to just one "it" and so all of the "its" cannot divide their energy to another "it" so all of the "its" use the same energy source but the water is heated from the burner on the stove yet the eggs are heated by the water....hmm...

Answer 4

I guess I don't, since I don't know what the Riddle of the Egg is (unless you are referring to the chicken and the egg, in which case the Chicken came first).

Answer 5

Yes post the riddle! Then I can try to solve it. Or is it the the one "What came first the chicken or the egg?". I would say the chicken even if you believe in creation or evolution it has to be the chicken.

Answer 6

If it's which came first, the chicken or the egg, it's the chicken.

Answer 7

the egg came first, but i dont know the answer to your question. i'm going to guess it would take less energy.
this would be a good one for mythbusters

Answer 8

i might know the answer if i knew the riddle first.

Answer 9

no i don't even no the riddle, you should post it

Answer 10

No what is it?