this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2026
799 points (98.9% liked)
Science Memes
20063 readers
3362 users here now
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- !abiogenesis@mander.xyz
- !animal-behavior@mander.xyz
- !anthropology@mander.xyz
- !arachnology@mander.xyz
- !balconygardening@slrpnk.net
- !biodiversity@mander.xyz
- !biology@mander.xyz
- !biophysics@mander.xyz
- !botany@mander.xyz
- !ecology@mander.xyz
- !entomology@mander.xyz
- !fermentation@mander.xyz
- !herpetology@mander.xyz
- !houseplants@mander.xyz
- !medicine@mander.xyz
- !microscopy@mander.xyz
- !mycology@mander.xyz
- !nudibranchs@mander.xyz
- !nutrition@mander.xyz
- !palaeoecology@mander.xyz
- !palaeontology@mander.xyz
- !photosynthesis@mander.xyz
- !plantid@mander.xyz
- !plants@mander.xyz
- !reptiles and amphibians@mander.xyz
Physical Sciences
- !astronomy@mander.xyz
- !chemistry@mander.xyz
- !earthscience@mander.xyz
- !geography@mander.xyz
- !geospatial@mander.xyz
- !nuclear@mander.xyz
- !physics@mander.xyz
- !quantum-computing@mander.xyz
- !spectroscopy@mander.xyz
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and sports-science@mander.xyz
- !gardening@mander.xyz
- !self sufficiency@mander.xyz
- !soilscience@slrpnk.net
- !terrariums@mander.xyz
- !timelapse@mander.xyz
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Tangentially related. Pilot light kept going out on two appliances. Utility company came. Had to turn turn the main bc too strong blowing out pilot. Why? Everyone replacing with electric means more supply and more physical pressure on the infra.
That's actually really cool from a science perspective where are you? Assuming Europe? My current house has nat gas but looking to replace the water heater this year that will remove part of the gas reliance at least.
Everything in my area is electric and oh gawd the electric bills. Also my fiance is a chef and hates having to cook on am electric range.
I don't know why those are not popular in the US, but inductive ranges are the best.
He hates consistent and predictable heat cycles that are 100% efficient heating instead of 80% of the heat escaping to everywhere but the pan?
If they've got an older type of electric stove, they don't produce an even heat, the element clicks on and off constantly. Even cheaper inductive cookers do this, and it can make things difficult for cooking.
...The element 'clicks off' when the element is at (or usually around 105%) of the temperature set for that number. It 'clicks on' when it is below or (or within 5%) of that temperature. This actually provides MORE accurate and even heating than gas stoves, which can be effected by room temperature, slight breezes, variations in pressure in the line, or mismatched regulators.
The heat is never off during cooking, it just isn't applying more temperature to the coil. Which means your pan and food aren't pulling enough heat to cool down the coil.
It's easier to cook with electric when you know what you're actually doing, and what the stove is supposed to be doing. It's easier to cook with gas when you have no idea what anything is supposed to be doing and you just fiddle with the knobs until you brute force the heat you think you need.
https://youtu.be/ff04ecF9Dfw
Just gonna drop this here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_switch
Everything you just said was wrong. There's no feedback from the coil, no temperature sensor, just a dumb switch that uses duty cycle to control output.
Whereas gas is a steady heat, and the heat output can be gauged by eye.
Technically they're correct, they're referring to an induction stovetop. Induction stovetops are sort of like magic. That being said, old non-induction electric stovetops are cheeks.
I've used induction cooktops that are duty cycle based, they just do it a lot faster, fast enough that the interruption in heat isn't noticeable.
You can hear them cycling on and off.
We're talking about the stove, or range. That's the flat bit on top where you put pots and pans, an oven is the box you put food in that gets hot.
You mean to the part where it talks about adjusting the gas flow on the burner? 😂
You've posted a diagram for a gas stove, you complete and utter imbecile.
Youre also assuming that you cook every dish at the same temperature the whole time. Gas changes immediately, and if you turn it off, its off. Electric takes longer to change temp and continues to heat and cook after the elements are off.
I find your elitist attitude amusing. Have you ever worked in a kitchen with a real chef?
I can not agree more. While I will admit my electric range knowledge is limited while my gas range knowledge is pretty high. I bought a house with an electric stove I put some oil in my pan turned the eye on and let it warm while I was cutting veggies or something else it had not been more then maybe 2 minutes and the oil burned to the pan. On gas i have never had that issue. It seems no matter what I do on electric I always burn. I admit it may be my lack of knowledge.
If you've got the curled up elements, they're notorious for only making contact with part of the pan.
Elitist and I'm arguing against the flamboyant and expensive option that only exists to enrich the wealthy?
That rule breaking part of your comment aside, and since we're on a science adjacent page;
Thermal inertia isn't a bad thing, and most chefs utilize it during cooking explicitly. No chef, on earth, in any professional kitchen, leaves a pan on a burner and just turns off the burner. None of them. If you need heat to stop building, you remove the food from the pan. If you just need the inertia from the pan's material, you move it to a dead burner. All stoves have thermal inertia. Even gas stoves. No stove on earth stops transferring heat immediately. That's not how thermodynamics works.
Gas 'appears' to change temperature faster because the range of heat is higher, since it is so much less efficient. The typical gas stove can output 1300c at it's max (usually largest burner on a four burner stove). An electric, properly working, should never get above 900c. No food on earth is edible for any known lifeform once it has reached 300c, even when cooled down after. So yes, you can make a pan hotter faster by subjecting it to nearly enough heat to melt iron, but you won't be cooling it down realistically any faster if you go up to that point.
This paired with the lower amount of control over temperature for nearly all gas stoves results in less efficiency every where. Actual chefs use predictable heat. Anyone pretending gas is better in anyway is the same type of person that still believes they can switch gears faster in a manual car or that its cheaper to just take your shoes down to a cobbler to get new soles.
You're really trying to say gas isn't preferred in professional kitchens?
My gas stove was cheaper than an induction cooktop to buy, runs off bottled LPG, and uses a bottle about twice a year. I probably spend a hundred dollars a year running it.
Also, every high end kitchen uses gas. Are you suggesting they don't know what they're doing?
Everything you've said so far has been absolutely wrong, and frankly you're just embarrassing yourself.
The user you're talking to is way too unaccepting of counterarguments but I do find it funny how in one comment you're talking about elitism and then in another you say all the high end restaurants use gas
I am not convinced an electric stovetop is any more efficient at transferring heat to the pan than gas is, unless you are using induction which the majority of electric hobs will not be.
Edit: I have been convinced now, see below
Technical connections has a video on this if you are more interested
I encourage you to find some thermal camera videos, and get some specs to do a bit of math for your own situation. Gas stoves typically create a BUNCH more heat, going up and around the sides of the pan/pot, while electric (of all types) is much more focused on the bottom surface. It's also why electric is so bad for cooking in a wok.
Haha wow, this guy on reddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/Thermal/comments/1qffa4e/infrared_video_of_my_gas_stove/
Electric heating is 100% efficient in general, as in 100% of the energy used is converted to thermal energy. No other heating method can claim this period (except geothermal and other heat pumps which can be several thousand percent effective but are impractical for spot heating.)
So the real difference is induction versus resistive coil efficiency at transferring that energy to the food...
Luckily a ridiculous amount of research has been done to show:
Gas is about 40% efficient
Electric coil is about 74% efficient.
Induction is 80-90% efficient.
So not only are you using more efficient methods of creating heat than combustion, you are getting more heat transferred to your food per unit of energy used. By double.
Gas stoves are great for two things, and only two things:
Jet-Gas stoves for Woks.
And Charring vegetables when you're too lazy to start a grill.
Yeah, I was careful to specify transferring heat to the pan.
Ok I am convinced now 😆. I'm easy to convince if you have data. I am surprised though, I have used all three and induction is by far the quickest to heat. I can boil a giant pot of water in a few minutes, so I am a bit surprised that the difference between electric and induction is not that big.
I guess gas is fast to heat because it stores a ridiculous amount of energy so it can waste plenty and still be quick.
Electric is the max temp of you power system so for 120v it's like 500°c and gas burns at like 1300°C you just need a lot more power in gas than in electricity
Damn, I have a 240v induction stove, can I melt metal? 😆
I tried searching this question but apparently there are safety features to prevent me doing cool stuff.
Perfectly efficient at turning electrical energy into heat that goes everywhere but the bloody pan, sure.
Clean the bottom of your pan and the coil, you nasty bugger. The only thing that stops heat from getting to the pan is insulation, aka all that stuck on grease and muck you constantly fail to actually get off the pan when you fail to actually get it clean. Did you know there's no reason your pans can't be shiny for decades after you get them, except your own lazy habits?
Why did you delete your other comments, not brave enough to let your mistake stand for the amusement of others?
I note you still gave me one last downvote before trying to hide your shame though.
Bro grow tf up.
Americans will do anything but use the metric system.
A quart is just under a litre. 0.95L
So it's about 7.6 litres, which is huge.
I doubt that's how it works, because the gas company could just set the pressure on the pipes, like how divers have a certain pressure when breathing out of a tank with varying pressure.
That's just not how pressure regulators work though, they all drop in pressure under flow compared to static, it's inherent to how they work.