16 ms·

Simply heating does not kill all bacteria magically. That would require boiling for some time and I doubt that happens in-flight.

joerickard 9y ago
Also, 'boiling' at the cabin pressure is not quite normal boiling.
- jcranmer 9y ago
  The safe temperature for killing bacteria is about 140°F or 60°C. To get water to boil at that low a temperature requires about ⅕ atmospheric pressure, or roughly the atmospheric pressure outside the aircraft.
elif 9y ago
yea wilderness survival says full boil for at least 3 minutes, more in higher altitude. While shopping for an on-demand hot water tap, I couldn't find a single one that even went up to boiling temperature, so my hunch is that airplanes don't even boil for a second.
- refurb 9y ago
  It depends on what you're trying to kill. Some bacteria perish quickly at less-than-boiling temperatures. In the wild, you have spores and other hardy organisms that require a lot more heat and time to kill.
- benjohnson 9y ago
  The 3 minutes idea is to kill anything that may be deeply imbedded the bits of wood, leaves, and other detritus suspended in the water. It's generally considered paranoid overkill when you consider the water will take a while to cool - it will stay in the "kill everything" temperature for quite a while in the process. https://besurvival.com/guides/how-long-should-you-boil-water https://besurvival.com/guides/how-long-should-you-boil-water
sfeng 9y ago
Heat absolutely does kill bacteria. Heating water for just a few minutes at 60C will kill e. coli, 70C will kill it instantly. Coffee is brewed at 90-100C. [1] https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article-pdf/3/1/11/5107757/jtm3-0011.pdf https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article-pdf/3/1/11/5107757/jtm3...
- rjsw 9y ago
  Airplanes are not pressurized to sea level though, water boils at lower temperatures at altitude.
  - spiznnx 9y ago
    On airplanes, pressure is equivalent to about 2000m ASL, at which water boils at 93.4 °C
    - rjsw 9y ago
      There are several ski resorts at 2000m, you notice the difference in coffee temperature from sea level.
- leephillips 9y ago
  Yeah, but not "magically".
deleted 9y ago
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joerickard 9y ago

Also, 'boiling' at the cabin pressure is not quite normal boiling.

jcranmer 9y ago
The safe temperature for killing bacteria is about 140°F or 60°C. To get water to boil at that low a temperature requires about ⅕ atmospheric pressure, or roughly the atmospheric pressure outside the aircraft.

elif 9y ago

yea wilderness survival says full boil for at least 3 minutes, more in higher altitude. While shopping for an on-demand hot water tap, I couldn't find a single one that even went up to boiling temperature, so my hunch is that airplanes don't even boil for a second.

refurb 9y ago
It depends on what you're trying to kill. Some bacteria perish quickly at less-than-boiling temperatures. In the wild, you have spores and other hardy organisms that require a lot more heat and time to kill.
benjohnson 9y ago
The 3 minutes idea is to kill anything that may be deeply imbedded the bits of wood, leaves, and other detritus suspended in the water. It's generally considered paranoid overkill when you consider the water will take a while to cool - it will stay in the "kill everything" temperature for quite a while in the process. https://besurvival.com/guides/how-long-should-you-boil-water https://besurvival.com/guides/how-long-should-you-boil-water

sfeng 9y ago

Heat absolutely does kill bacteria. Heating water for just a few minutes at 60C will kill e. coli, 70C will kill it instantly. Coffee is brewed at 90-100C. [1] https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article-pdf/3/1/11/5107757/jtm3-0011.pdf https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article-pdf/3/1/11/5107757/jtm3...

rjsw 9y ago
Airplanes are not pressurized to sea level though, water boils at lower temperatures at altitude.
- spiznnx 9y ago
  On airplanes, pressure is equivalent to about 2000m ASL, at which water boils at 93.4 °C
  - rjsw 9y ago
    There are several ski resorts at 2000m, you notice the difference in coffee temperature from sea level.
leephillips 9y ago
Yeah, but not "magically".

deleted 9y ago

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