Leidenfrost effect

noun

The phenomenon whereby a liquid, in near contact with a mass significantly hotter than the liquid's boiling point, produces an insulating vapour layer which keeps the liquid from boiling rapidly.

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Meanings

nounLeidenfrost effect (plural Leidenfrost effects)

plural Leidenfrost effects

  1. The phenomenon whereby a liquid, in near contact with a mass significantly hotter than the liquid's boiling point, produces an insulating vapour layer which keeps the liquid from boiling rapidly.

Origin

After Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost.

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Cite this entry
APA

Leidenfrost effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Leidenfrost%20effect

MLA

“Leidenfrost effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Leidenfrost%20effect. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Leidenfrost effect,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Leidenfrost%20effect.

Source: Leidenfrost effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.