Jail Break
Posted by Annie Georgy on November 30, 2003
Q: If you hard boil an egg in its shell why is the same egg heavier than before.
A: I hadn't heard this before so I did some research on the subject.
I spoke with someone in poultry research at Cornell University and they assured me that a hardboiled egg is heavier due to an intake of water during boiling. I still wasn't convinced so I did an experiment to see for myself.
After weighing, boiling, and reweighing two eggs on a very delicate scale, I found that one egg gained weight but the other lost. Seems to me that to get a more accurate answer, one needs to try this with many more eggs. Maybe you'd like to try this one for yourself? You will need a very accurate scale to measure any difference in weight. If you do get a reliable increase in weight it is probably due to an intake of water. Good luck!
John Wiessinger ( December 2, 2003)