What will happen if you pour a hot drink into a paper cup will it melt?!


Question: Well paper will burn at approximately 450C(this varies depending on the makeup of the paper involved). Assuming your drink is colder than that then you should still have a cup after pouring in the liquid since paper will not melt. Paper will however become soggy and mushy. If you've ever left liquid in a paper cup overnight you'll know that it will start to saturate the paper, I can't say for sure about all paper cups but some of the ones I've used will do this. Hot liquids would speed this process up because of the heat involved. So in theory if you had a hot enough liquid, below the burst into flames temperature, and a thin paper cup and you poured the liquid in it may give the appearance of melting.

If you're just talking about a cup of coffee though you'll be okay, just go to a coffee shop and you'll see them using paper cups. Avoid ones with wax though like one of the above responses said though.


Answers: Well paper will burn at approximately 450C(this varies depending on the makeup of the paper involved). Assuming your drink is colder than that then you should still have a cup after pouring in the liquid since paper will not melt. Paper will however become soggy and mushy. If you've ever left liquid in a paper cup overnight you'll know that it will start to saturate the paper, I can't say for sure about all paper cups but some of the ones I've used will do this. Hot liquids would speed this process up because of the heat involved. So in theory if you had a hot enough liquid, below the burst into flames temperature, and a thin paper cup and you poured the liquid in it may give the appearance of melting.

If you're just talking about a cup of coffee though you'll be okay, just go to a coffee shop and you'll see them using paper cups. Avoid ones with wax though like one of the above responses said though.

no

it depends how hot it is if its boiling then yes

well if it is a paper cup with wax that covers it then the wax will melt. i did it a few days ago

paper doesn't melt....

so no

No it will not. Paper burns not melts by the way. However the cup may become very hot. If it is waxed coated the wax may melt depending on the degree of the liquid.

no the hot drink will not melt

If the paper is waxed that will perhaps melt, but not the paper itself.

No, but it depends how hot the drink is and what you mean by 'paper cup' if it is a paper cup not capable of holding water it is unlikely it will hold a hot drink

It won't melt. That's what we used for coffee before styrofoam was invented.

It will however be too hot to hold onto because the heat comes right through. The old paper cups we drank coffee from had little "ears" that folded out to hold onto the cup by.

If it is a WAXED paper cup, the wax will certainly melt though.

No. It will make the cup feel less rigid but it won't melt just from hot water.

no! try it!

depends on the cup..if it is a very thin plastic, then possibly. If it is a mug then no, or a styrophom cup....but i wouldnt try it

no, but it will be mighty hot to hold and it never tastes nice from a polystyrene or paper cup.

JUST TO MAKE THE POINT: even if we take your "hot drink" to extremities, taking it as molten lava, and assuming the paper cup had no waxy / plastic coating, the cup would burn first before it melted, leaving no cup to melt. this is because the melting point of paper is higher than that of its "combustion point", if we can call it that.





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