The hand boiler is an intriguing physics demonstration that is perfectly suited to the high school classroom. The ubiquity of this device, and the many incorrect explanations of its workings, motivate this author to write and explain its physics correctly. In this article I explain how the hand boiler works and provide supporting experiments that refute the incorrect explanations. Also included are a few well-tested hands-on activities for students and teachers to enjoy. Examples of the hand boiler are shown in Fig. 1.
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This title is an homage to
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2022
Author(s)
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