WolframAlpha Boils Wrong
Wolfram Alpha is very good at knowing or computing the answer to a wide range of questions, especially math and science related. I love Wolfram Alpha and use it all the time. Siri does too, and uses it to answer many arbitrary questions.
We learn in high school chemistry class that the boiling point of water at sea level is 100°C. At elevations above sea level, where pressure is reduced, the boiling point drops. For example, at 10,000 feet above sea level, water boils at 90°C.
I live in Los Altos, CA, at 157 feet above sea level. I expect water to boil at very close to 100°C, but I am calibrating a thermometer, so I want to be accurate. To my surprise, Wolfram Alpha gets it wrong:
For water to boil at 100.1°C, Los Altos would have to be below sea level, which we know is not true, and so does Wolfram Alpha:
Wolfram Alpha, I am disappointed in you!
While we are at it, why is Wolfram Alpha so slow?
We learn in high school chemistry class that the boiling point of water at sea level is 100°C. At elevations above sea level, where pressure is reduced, the boiling point drops. For example, at 10,000 feet above sea level, water boils at 90°C.
I live in Los Altos, CA, at 157 feet above sea level. I expect water to boil at very close to 100°C, but I am calibrating a thermometer, so I want to be accurate. To my surprise, Wolfram Alpha gets it wrong:
For water to boil at 100.1°C, Los Altos would have to be below sea level, which we know is not true, and so does Wolfram Alpha:
Wolfram Alpha, I am disappointed in you!
While we are at it, why is Wolfram Alpha so slow?
posted by Tim at 9:24 AM
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