O.K., here's a physics problem for you. I have a small coffee percolator that my mother bought once when she came to visit and discovered I did not have a coffee pot (this was during the time when Micheal and I were separated, since Micheal was as heavy a coffee drinker as my mother, and when we were together there was always a coffee pot in the house). Anyway, I've kept it over the years, even though I didn't drink coffee, for any visitors who might.
In the past year I have become a coffee drinker, despite the fact that I fear it doesn't really agree with my insides. I discovered it worked better than anything else, including my old standbys, a diet coke and a candy bar, at making me wake up when all I want to do is put my head down and go to sleep. So sometimes I buy coffee at the Dunkin Donuts on the way to work, or sometimes I'll stop at Slates Bakery, around the corner from the library in Hallowell, and get a cup there. And when I'm feeling frugal and can make myself do it, I make a pot at home.
Which takes me to the problem, although it isn't really a problem. More a minor annoyance, and a mystery. I put the five cups of water in the thing, the five tablespoons of coffee in the filter, set it on the stove, turn on the heat...and in a minute or two the whole thing is rattling like we're in the middle of an earthquake. I have to hold onto the handle for about five minutes, until just before it starts perking, or the shaking and rattling will drive me crazy. A short time before it starts perking, it stops shaking.
So why does it do this? I don't remember ever seeing another percolator heating up on top of a stove do this. I've thought, maybe it's that the cold bottom of the pot meets the heated burner, and until the former heats up to match the latter, it shakes. But that still doesn't tell me why. And besides, one puts cold sauce pans onto burners that are initially hotter than they are all the time, and the pans do not shake, rattle and roll. I would very much appreciate an explanation! Thanks.
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4 comments:
If I understand your description of the pot's gyrations I have witnessed only one similar action. That was with a stainless steel sauce pan on my electric stove. It was caused by having a small amount of water on the flat burner. The pan jiggled and spun around until I discovered that the bottom of the pan was not precisely flat as it rested on the flat burner top. This may or may not fit your situation.
I had thought it might be because the bottom of the coffee pot was wet (from having water put into it at the sink). However, even when I carefully wipe off the pot before putting it on the burner, it still gyrates. If it was because the surface was not completely flat (or the surface of the pot was not completely flat), seems like it would continue to shake. Hmmm...
When I said my pan danced with a little water because the bottom was not flat what I meant to say was that the strange action was not because it was wet, only not heavy enough. Being wet really had nothing to do with the case. The reason was because the bottom of the pan bulged out a slight bit so it did not sit flat on the burner but when more water, or whatever, was put in to make it a littte heavier it stopped its gyrations. The problem was settled when I gently beat the bottom back up.
Cliff
Well, my little coffee pot is essentially brand new, having been used only occasionally over the years, never having been dropped, etc. It is possible that the burner is not completely flat, from having liquid spilled on it, that has dried and built up slightly. But, again, if that were the problem, it seems like the pot would continue to gyrate the whole time it was perking. I thought it must have to do with the molecules in the stainless steel, or something of the sort. Ah well, just one of life little mysteries.
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