Why does kettle make noise

Even when in the kitchen, many people prefer to use the electric kettle to save room on the stovetop. The biggest downfall to electric kettles is that they can be extremely loud- sometimes as loud as power tools.

Why are electric kettles so loud, and how can you make them quieter? Aside from buying an electric kettle with a bigger heating element, you can also reduce the noise by covering the kettle in a tea cozy or rubberized undercoating spray, or removing limescale buildup within the kettle. The science behind why electric kettles are loud is pretty simple, and understanding what is causing the noise makes it easier to find a solution to reduce it.

An average kettle is filled with water and placed on a stove. The heat is further transferred into the water, increasing the water temperature until it boils. A modern design electric kettle condenses this set up so that the stovetop burner is replaced by an electric heating coil inside the base of the kettle.

While this makes the electric kettle quick and convenient, it does create the noise problem many people complain about. As water heats, it expands. If it gets hot enough, it expands so much that it becomes a gas- steam. Whether the water fully becomes a gas bubble or is just a pocket of hot, expanded water, the hot water has lower density than the surrounding colder water and will float to the surface.

Because water is heated at the bottom of the kettle as heat is transferred from the heating element or the stove burner by way of the pot , the hot water has to pass through all of the cold water on its way to the surface. As the boiling water travels up through the kettle, some of its heat is transferred to the cold water surrounding it. Eventually, the hot water cools down so much that it is no longer a gas or expanded, hot water.

When the water shrinks back to its smaller size, it creates a condition called cavitation , in which a pocket of empty space is created within the water. This is because the more this process repeats, the more heat has been transferred to the rest of the water. When passing up through warmer water, less heat is lost, and the pocket of steam is able to make it to the surface. The water is now boiling. Electric kettles produce more noise than retro design traditional kettles because their heating elements are naturally smaller.

Instead of heat transfer into the water along the entire bottom and to a lesser extent, the walls of the traditional kettle, only the water surrounding the heating coil itself heats up. I was wondering what causes the noise as before I really thought about I assumed it was because the water was hot. But when I turn off the power it is still the same temperature but no bubbles or noise. So my next hypnosis is it is something to do with the addition of the energy which maybe can't all be transferred to heat quickly enough so some of the energy is converted to sound.

That question asks why the water becomes quiet just before it boils, while it is still being heated; this one asks why the water becomes quiet after boiling when it is no longer being heated. These are completely different phenomena. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. Bubbles create sound due to quickly expanding from a small nucleus. Michiel 2, 1 1 gold badge 13 13 silver badges 31 31 bronze badges. Miladiouss Miladiouss 1 1 silver badge 7 7 bronze badges.

Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Linked I use a 50's 60's style electric jug and it hardly makes any noise at all. Just have to watch it as has no auto cut off on the one I have, It also boils that quick. Then, why doesn't it make noise so loud when I boil with gas?

Is it because water is heated more rapidly? I suspect that heating on a gas hob is quieter because the heat from the gas ring is applied over a larger area on the base of the kettle and also spreads out as it is conducted through the metal to make contact with the water.

As a result the energy flow into the water is less focal, so there is probably a lower likelihood of bubbles of water vapour nucleating in few places around the element; this is what produces the cavitation sounds heard on an electric kettle.

If any one cares to remember the old stile kettles with an exposed element were very quiet! My kettle's noisy because i've been keeping my hampster in it while its cage is being redecorated. Skip to main content. Earth Science. Articles Answers to Science Questions Why are electric kettles so noisy? Why are electric kettles so noisy? Part of the show Science Questions and Answers.

Play Download. Question Why are electric kettles so noisy? Answer Chris Smith - Ah, yes my kettle is no exception and the reason that kettles are noisy, they make that sort of thumping and bashing noise as they boil and then the noise intensifies as they warm up and then it goes silent as they boil.

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