Boyle's Law

I remember my high school chemistry teacher, Dr. T. S. Lakshmi.

She is the one that insisted we use logic. The most important lesson we ever learnt - use logic to determine the answer, and you will know the answer. From a high school lecture, that lesson has diffused into every aspect of my being, and defined my personality. One that I am proud of.

She is the one that made us all wake up, no matter how sleepy we felt. I remember feeling drowsy and tired through the day, but the moment the bell rang for the Chemistry period, I'd wake up instantly. Because I knew everyday that today I would be drafted to answer a question.

She put us through the Socrates method of teaching. Ask questions. Of course, there was a twist to it - we'd get asked questions as well, so that we would be forced to think. Her lessons demonstrated who were truly the smart kids in the class.

She taught us the value of examples. No answer in the exam received points if there wasn't a good example attached to it. It seemed purely pedantic at the time, but so ingrained is that attitude, it persists today, eight years later. And it has served me well. I attach working examples to as many customer questions that I answer as possible, and I receive back a lot of very grateful comments and effusive surveys.

And every time that I boil anything on my stove, I remember her. The reason being that I always boil liquids in a vessel that's covered, because that will make them boil faster.

What happens is, when you heat a liquid, it will create vapours that diffuse into the air above the liquid. By covering the vessel, you trap those vapours and leave them with nowhere to go. Thus trapped, they will build up and generate pressure, which gets exerted back on the surface of the liquid, causing it to heat faster (Boyle's law) and create more vapours. If you leave the vessel uncovered, the vapours are free to escape, so they will not exert as much pressure on the liquid. Covering the vessel thus leads to faster boiling. I remember she mentioned this specifically in our lesson that day - to go home and ask our parents if they had ever observed faster boiling when leaving the vessel uncovered.

Thusly did she teach, with meaning and relevance, and thusly do I remember most of my chemistry lessons, though I have never had to touch the textbooks in eight years.

I observe Boyle's law every day, when I cook. And every day, I remember that lesson from 9th grade, and my gratitude towards my dear teacher increases.