posted by Marc Brooks @ 6:21 PM
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Some uninformed people are satisfied with their limited understanding of the Hookah. If they suck on the hose, smoke will come out. The true Hookah aficionado needs something more. Familiarity with the science behind the Hookah guarantees thick, cool, fresh and delicious smoke every time! This is the start of hookahhookup.com's disclosure of the key elements to an enjoyable Hookah smoking experience.
The science of the Hookah consists of a beautiful intermingling of physics and chemistry. Though it evolved without specific, laboratory understanding of these areas, it involves complex and precise pressure changes, energy transfer (conduction and convection), and fuel consumption. This may sound too complicated, but this crash course will help you to master the Hookah and guarantee you a more pleasant and relaxing smoke.
Breathing in at the mouthpiece lowers air pressure in the hose, which is connected to the base. If there were no water in the base, then it would require very little suction to force air down through the headpiece and metal pipe. The water, filled to about an inch above the bottom of the metal pipe, creates a barrier which requires air pressure to be significantly lower in the base for the air to pass through. Aluminum foil with small, evenly dispersed pinholes also aids in regulating the speed of airflow, thus moving the air slowly through the coal at the most efficient speed gently and evenly heating the tobacco.
This heat transfer is regulated by the slightly moistened, molasses-soaked tobacco, the concave coal design, and the aluminum foil with properly sized and placed holes. The tobacco, when fresh and containing the proper moisture, allows a very precise amount of conduction of heat from the coal, as water's boiling point is relatively low. The water in the molasses boils off, taking with it the flavor. To prevent too much from boiling and the tobacco from burning, the air passing through the coal must be fast enough to keep it lit, yet slow enough to not burn it too quickly or too hotly. The lifted, concave bottom of the "Star or "King" brand coal is perfect for the task. The foil prevents the coal from touching the tobacco, and a small percentage of the coal's surface area touches the foil, thus it heats the tobacco to the proper temperature, neither burning it (which causes a nasty taste), nor allowing it to go out. A coal that doesn't burn hot enough requires the user to get up and blow on the coal to reheat it all the time, or to light another coal altogether. This is a hassle. Hassles suck. They are the antithesis of the Hookah smoking experience. This is why a good brand of coal is so essential!
So now you on the road to becoming a wise and powerful master of the Hookah! But remember, with great power comes great responsibility. So you had better go out there and smoke your Hookah proper, grasshopper, but don't forget that there is always more to learn! So read on, you scholar you.
posted by Marc Brooks @ 6:33 PM
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Hookah Knowledge All Hooked Up
Marc is a generally-likable cubicle monkey in DC. He's into cooking, web-design, and frisbees. Ask him anything about hookahs, you'll hear the whole answer.
