Why does water fizzle?

Question

Sometimes when I boil my water in the microwave for my morning coffee and add sugar to it, it fizzles, but not always. Sometimes it doesn't fizzle, sometimes it fizzles a lot, and sometimes just barely. I've tried adding the sugar before and after I add my instant coffee. This might sound like a stupid question but it's been really bugging me for not knowing why. I don't know if this has any significance but I live in China and maybe they put some kind of chemicals into their water that causes this reaction. Anyway, just makes me curious.

No kidding it's a chemical reaction Ms. Gump. The reason I asked the question as we all do is to know why.

Answer 1

The chemicals that the Chinese put into the tap water is not too bad. It's alka seltzer. The population in China is approximately 1 billion, and therefore have a lot more people with indigestion than any other country in the world. To help with this, the Chinese government puts alka seltzer in the tap water, just as the American government puts fluoride in the tap water to help prevent tooth decay. So just remember that when you see that water sizzle, it's the plop plop fizz fizz action working, but then you're drinking coffee, so the effects of both will cancel each other out, and you won't notice a thing.

Answer 2

Rest assured that your water itself is not the cause of the fizzle you get. The heating of water in a microwave allows for the temperature to reach above 100C without breaking the surface tension (unlike in a pot where the water rolls); this is due to a lack of nucleation or seed sites for the boiling to occur. When you add you sugar or instant coffee you are adding nucleation sites, which in turn give the water a location at which to boil and as there is enough energy in your water the fizzle is the quick boiling.

This is also seen in part in the mentos/cola experiment where the mentos provides a nucleation site for the carbon dioxide to boil out of the cola (usually eruptively).

To prevent this from exploding and scalding you, I would recommend scratching the inside of your heating vessel or putting a stirrer in before you heat the liquid.

Answer 3

The answer of superheated water is correct.

You should consider putting a coffee stirrer in the water when you heat it up, which will break the surface tension and allow the water to boil. Because if the water gets too hot you can get a very violent reaction and could get badly burned.

Answer 4

Since you did not say, I'll count on that that is an electrical HW heater. You have NO water within the apartment (scorching or bloodless)? You must nonetheless have bloodless water, despite the fact that the HW heater went dangerous. If you wouldn't have bloodless water both, your obstacle is somewhere else. If you've got immoderate rough water, the calcium and magnesium would have clogged the heater, or the bloodless water give valve (that is infrequent, and the water might must be REALLY rough). Locate the reset button at the HW heater and depress it, see what occurs. If the reset does not do something, you can must touch a authentic. Also, assess the visible matters just like the circuit breaker being tripped, and so forth.

Answer 5

Using microwaves (heating source) water can be superheated, which means that it is above boiling temperature but not boiling. Once you break the surface tension (with a spoon), it will boil for a few seconds.

Answer 6

Just a chemical reaction. Nothing too mysterious.

Answer 7

It has nothing to do with China, its only superheated water.

Answer 8

...fizzle?...
*wanders off scratching head*

Answer 9

ching ching chang chong, wa-wa bingbag.

what didi it just say in chineeze?!