Leidenfrost Effect Simulator (2D)

This 2D side-view simulator heats a metal plate and drops a water droplet onto it so you can watch the Leidenfrost effect unfold in cross-section. Below 100 °C the droplet simply sits and evaporates slowly; between 100 °C and the Leidenfrost point (≈193 °C) it makes direct contact with the metal and boils away violently in seconds; push the temperature past that point and a thin insulating vapor cushion forms underneath, lifting the droplet into a near-frictionless hover where — despite the higher temperature — it actually survives longer and skates across the plate. Drag the temperature slider through all three regimes, drop in a new droplet, or give it a nudge to see it glide, and watch the live readout track the estimated lifetime and vapor-film thickness in real time.