Daily Curiosity

Science General · Question

Water always boils at 100°C, 212°F, 373.15K, no matter where you are.

Answer

False

The story behind the answer

False. Water boils at 100°C (212°F, 373.15 K) only at standard atmospheric pressure (1 atm) at sea level. Boiling happens when a liquid’s vapor pressure equals the surrounding pressure. At higher altitudes, air pressure is lower, so water boils at a lower temperature—around 95°C in Denver and near 70°C on Everest.

Context: Pressure cookers increase pressure,

More to discover