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? asked in Science & MathematicsOther - Science · 3 months ago

If I put water in a plastic ziplock sandwich bag, does it 'reduce' the melting point of the plastic?

alright, so my computer is overheating, and my solution was to soak fabric and place it down on top of an area with no openings (since obviously water and electronics don't mix, so if I put water on a place with no openings, the chances of water getting into my computer and short-circuiting it are slim to none) but my parents were against that.

so, my next solution would be to use a plastic bag, since even if there are openings, nearby, they're useless if the water can't escape the plastic bag.

given that plastic bags are quite thin, I would assume their melting point is quite low and melting plastic allows water to escape, aka the opposite of what I want. However, I also know that Water is good at evening out heat, so if I do what I want, and put water in a plastic bag, will the plastic melt? or will the water spread out the heat evenly, 'reducing' the melting point of the plastic?

Look I've seen dumber questions on this site please don't banish me to the shadow realm for asking a dumb question

Update:

ok I put reduce in quotes for a reason

What Im implying, is because the water dissipates the heat evenly, you more energy to melt the plastic.Im just asking if my theory was correct because it makes sense, but at the same time, if you apply enough heat on one spot in a short enough amount of time, the water won't have time to dissipate the heat and spread it evenly.no chemical relations with the plastic were implied, im not THAT dumbI should have been more clear im sorry but read the question

Update 2:

ok I can't edit my update, all I want to say is Grammarly autocorrect failed me

Chemical reactions

not relations

Update 3:

alrighty thanks

I shall find alternate methods to cool my laptop then

1 Answer

Relevance
  • ?
    Lv 6
    3 months ago

    no, the water in the bag does not have a chemical reaction with the plastic and lower it's melting point, you're right, I have seen stupider questions on here, but not many :P

    Edit: I was partially kidding, I understand what you mean, but this still wouldn't work since the plastic is on the outside and would be in direct contact with the heat, the heat wouldn't be dissipated by the water till it went through the plastic. therefore it wouldn't have any effect on melting the plastic 

    Edit: use a fan

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