If you drop a hot rock into a pan of cold water what happens? Why? How about if you drop the hot rock into the Atlantic ocean?

Answer 1

When you drop a hot rock into a pan of cold water, several things happen:

1. The heat from the hot rock transfers to the water, raising the temperature of the water and cooling the rock. This happens because heat moves from a higher temperature object (the hot rock) to a lower temperature object (the cold water), following the second law of thermodynamics.

2. You may hear a sudden hissing sound, resulting from the contact between the cold water and the hot rock, which causes a small portion of the water to vaporize rapidly.

3. There may be some visible steam or bubbles as the water in contact with the hot rock turns into water vapor.

Now, if you drop the hot rock into the Atlantic Ocean, the result would be similar in terms of heat transfer, sound, and steam or bubbles. However, considering the vast size of the ocean, the overall effect would be negligible. The water temperature in the ocean would not noticeably change except right at the point of contact with the hot rock, as the heat would quickly disperse throughout the vast expanse of water.