A blacksmith wishes to cool his hot piece of steel as rapidly as possible. He has a bucket of ice-water and a bucket of oil (at room temperature). Which bucket should he dump his steel into?
If the blacksmith places the hot piece of steel in the bucket of ice-water, then the water at the immediate vicinity of it will rapidly form steam, which will insulate the steel from the cool water beyond the steam. This will effectively end the process of cooling the piece of steel.
Therefore, the blacksmith should place the steel-piece in the bucket of oil (at room temperature) which will effectively cool it.
Edited on January 18, 2022, 4:46 am
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