Hi,
First post here so a hello to everyone! Came here for help with a question but got diverted reading posts about turbofan engines (brought back memories!) and whether or not peeing is advisable. How I love physics - I'll be visiting more :-D
To get back to the point, this is going to sound daft but I was wondering if someone has the definitive answer to whether it's a good idea to clean sooty saucepans or not. I'm a keen mountaineer and it's the hot topic on another forum at the moment. To be fair, when you're carting gas cylinders up a mountain you want to make the best use of the energy in them.
So. One arguement is that aluminium or titanium saucepans are good heat conductors in their own right, they're lighter without soot (tar for lower altitude campers with a wood fire), and the soot (tar) would reduce the conductivity.
Alternative theory: Carbon (soot) is a good conductor, and being black helps the pans absorb heat rather than reflecting it away. Plus scrubbing a pan uses precious calories which could be saved by leaving it.
I guess the energy saved by scrubbing vs energy saved by carrying arguement is going a bit too far, but from a conductivity point of view I wondered if anyone could help.
Thanks very much!