Can you cook a potato by dropping it from space?

TL;DR

No, it is not possible to cook a potato by dropping it from space due to insufficient time for thermal energy to reach the center of the potato.

Transcript

while i was live streaming the other day at twitch.tv for slash simon clark link in the description a user called steve vagabond asked one of the big questions in life could i cook a potato by dropping it from space to answer that question let me ask another question when we cook a potato what are we actually doing we take an object that is at room... Read More

Key Insights

• 🧑‍🍳 The critical temperature for cooking a potato is 98 degrees Celsius, and it needs to be cooked all the way through.
• 🥔 Thermal diffusion equations can be used to model how the inside temperature of a potato changes in an oven.
• 🥔 Dropping a potato from space does not provide enough time for thermal energy to reach the center of the potato for cooking.
• 🧑‍🏭 The assumptions made in the analysis, such as using a foil-covered potato and neglecting realistic factors, make the problem more solvable but less realistic.
• 🍂 The temperature of the atmosphere during the fall of the potato affects its heating process.
• 🚄 Even at high speeds and entry angles, dropping a potato from space still does not provide enough time for proper cooking.
• 🚄 Returning spacecraft experience significantly higher temperatures and heating due to their initial velocity and high speeds.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does cooking a potato affect its texture?

Cooking a potato involves reaching a critical temperature of 98 degrees Celsius, which causes the cells to rupture and changes the texture to be squishier and tastier.

Q: Why don't we cook potatoes at 98 degrees Celsius?

There is a delay between the outside and inside of a potato being heated, so it needs to be cooked all the way through at a temperature of at least 98 degrees Celsius.

Q: Why can't a potato be cooked by dropping it from space?

The variable temperature of the atmosphere during the fall does not provide enough time for thermal energy to reach the center of the potato to cook it properly.

Q: What factors influence the heating of a potato from space?

The speed of the potato's fall, air resistance, atmospheric density, and the compressing of the air in front of the potato all affect its heating process.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Cooking a potato involves raising its temperature to a critical threshold of 98 degrees Celsius to rupture its cells and change its texture.

• The thermal diffusion equation can be used to model how the inside temperature of a potato changes in an oven.

• When a potato is dropped from space, the variable temperature of the atmosphere does not allow enough time for the thermal energy to reach the center of the potato for cooking.