Hand Boiler

Hand boiler toy is a demonstration of thermal transfer and how the 3 states of matter interact.

The coloured liquid inside is usually ethyl alcohol, which is a volatile liquid (i.e. a liquid with low boiling point). Similar to the alcohol swab you applied on hand during injection. Such liquid evaporates easily in room temperature or when heat is applied to it.

Thermal energy flows from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature. When we hold the boiler in our hand, the thermal energy from our hand (body temp about 37oC) is transferred to the lower bulb of the boiler. The ethyl alcohol evaporates and also due to heated air above the liquid, the air expands and the pressure increases. The air pushes the liquid down, hence pushing the liquid up the shaft into the top bulb.

The bubbling of the liquid in the top bulb is not due to ‘boiling’ of the liquid. Rather, the gas in the lower bulb continues to expand and it goes to the top bulb, hence giving the illusion that the liquid is ‘boiling’.