How do Radiant Heat Elements Work?

wallix · 10-24-2008, 12:23 PM

I tried Googling and Wikipedia and I can't find a definitive answer. I just bought a glass cook-top and it looks like there are all these red dots that heat-up superfast when a burner is activated. I was curious about the tech behind that.

Also, if anyone else has any ceramic-top tips I am all ears. Sounds like they have a lot of rules.

Steven62 · 10-24-2008, 04:31 PM

Radiant heat elements are basically a circuit, a closed loop, with electricity running thru them.

It works by resistance. The electrons are "squeezed" into a narrow flow, and the "friction" of the electrons is expressed as heat. Over time, if exposed to air, (and dependant on the material used) the material breaks down and loses some resistance and then they eventually fail, OR-

A flaw or damage to the "coil" will result in a bottleneck, creating too much resistance, and it burns itself in half.

That is a very basic explanation, but I think it describes it fairly well!

wallix · 10-24-2008, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven62

Radiant heat elements are basically a circuit, a closed loop, with electricity running thru them.

It works by resistance. The electrons are "squeezed" into a narrow flow, and the "friction" of the electrons is expressed as heat. Over time, if exposed to air, (and dependant on the material used) the material breaks down and loses some resistance and then they eventually fail, OR-

A flaw or damage to the "coil" will result in a bottleneck, creating too much resistance, and it burns itself in half.

That is a very basic explanation, but I think it describes it fairly well!

That helps a lot, thanks. For some reason, I have to know how everything works, even if just partially.