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smartstovetop

a device that heats the water just below boiling point
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It's really simple !!

this stovetop automatically finds the right amount of heating required to just not boil something

Since if you're trying to boil something on an ordinary stove top, you probably open the pot so it doesn't cook over.. but you don't need to reach the boiling point,

just below the boiling point is just fine !

so this device has a detector. when you're pot starts shaking a bit because the water starts to boil, it lowers the heat input, just a bit

or perhaps the device could detect the state where the small bubbles start to come up, just before the water boils and stay in that state !

mr Dries, Sep 14 2010

Related application R_2eA_2eR_2eE_2e_20S_2eT_2eE_2eA_2eK_2e
[normzone, Sep 15 2010]

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       I like it too, but I think the invention lies in the sensor to reliably detect boiling. As it is, there's a bit too much "maybe"....
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 14 2010
  

       I rarely boil water with the lid on. I think it slows down the process. Maybe a laser? The apparent opacity of the water will change with the boiling state.
daseva, Sep 14 2010
  

       in't there temperature sensors ? : point it at the area you want to measure, etc.
FlyingToaster, Sep 14 2010
  

       Oooh... right. There is a temperature dependence!
daseva, Sep 14 2010
  

       Yes, but then it ceases to be just a smart stove top, and becomes some sort of external sensor that can control the cooker.
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 14 2010
  

       Why not just embed a platinum-rhodium thermocouple in an electric stove top and rig it to a decent PID controller and a triac, with a setpoint of 99.0 centigrade ? Those things are pretty damned accurate. Only good for electric stoves though.   

       Some high-end lab equipment can certainly achieve that level of accuracy.
8th of 7, Sep 14 2010
  

       //thermocouple in an electric stove top//   

       Your stovetop will be at exactly 99°C. The temperature of the water will be anyone's guess.   

       Also, in most cooking, you want the water boiling. It may be at a gentle simmer, a high simmer, a boil or a rolling boil. But it'll generally be at 100°C (or a bit higher, depending on your water, salt...). So something based on the degree of bubbleness in the water would be necessary.
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 14 2010
  

       Perhaps a load cell in the burner, and an empirically-tuned algorithm to detect the change in pattern of pot-jiggling when the contents were just on the verge of boiling.
mouseposture, Sep 14 2010
  

       bounce a laser off the water and check the precise return frequency for a larger percentage of free hydrogen at the water's surface?
Voice, Sep 14 2010
  

       You're gonna need to know the altitude of the stove. Folks in the Swiss Alps or Denver will have a lower boiling point. And if you were in a plane at 35,000 feet, and if you had a sudden loss of cabin pressure, and if, as the plane was plummeting to the ground, passengers might like one last hot beverage, well, then, uh... oh, nevermind. Bun for improving the technology, from the only guy on planet Earth who could burn water on a stove. [+]
Grogster, Sep 15 2010
  

       Or a single camera above the cooker, watching all pots. How difficult can it be for software to figure out that something's bubbling, and how much?
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 15 2010
  

       // a pressure cooker//   

       Pressure cookers are the work of the devil.
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 15 2010
  

       // a human observer //   

       Ooooh, Schrodinger's pressure cooker ... nice !
8th of 7, Sep 15 2010
  

       hahaha :-)   

       nice to read those comments !
mr Dries, Sep 30 2010
  
      
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