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How to unboil an egg - Eleanor Nelsen

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TEDEd Animation

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It’s so obvious that it’s practically proverbial: you can’t unboil an egg. But actually, it turns out that you can -- sort of. Eleanor Nelsen explains the process by which mechanical energy can undo what thermal energy has done.

Given what you know about the structure of the proteins in raw vs. boiled egg white, explain why raw egg white is runny while boiled egg white is solid and bouncy.

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Eleanor Nelsen
  • Director Iuri Araújo, Guilherme Araujo
  • Sound Designer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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