When you add salt to water, it increases the boiling point of the water. This is because the salt ions interfere with the water molecules, making it more difficult for the water to reach its boiling point.
To understand why this happens, it's helpful to know a little bit about the properties of water. Water molecules are held together by hydrogen bonds, which give water many of its unique properties. These bonds are relatively weak, but they are important for many of the ways that water behaves.
When water is heated, the molecules begin to move around more and more quickly. Eventually, they will have enough energy to break free from the hydrogen bonds and turn into steam, or vaporized water. This is what happens when water boils.
However, when you add salt to water, the salt ions interfere with the water molecules. The salt ions are much larger than the water molecules, and they get in the way of the hydrogen bonds. This makes it more difficult for the water molecules to break free from the bonds and turn into steam. As a result, the water has to be heated to a higher temperature in order to boil.
The amount of salt that you add to the water will determine how much the boiling point is increased. The more salt you add, the higher the boiling point will be. This can be useful if you are cooking in high altitude areas, where the boiling point of water is lower due to the lower atmospheric pressure. By adding salt to the water, you can compensate for the lower boiling point and cook your food more effectively.
Overall, the addition of salt to water can increase the boiling point of the water. This can be useful in certain cooking situations, but it's important to be aware of the effect that salt has on the boiling point of water.