When you heat an egg, the proteins gain energy and literally shake apart the bonds between the parts of the amino-acid strings, causing the proteins to unfold. As the temperature increases, the proteins gain enough energy to form new, stronger bonds (covalent) with other protein molecules. When you boil an egg, the heat first breaks (unfolds) the proteins, and then allows the proteins to link to other proteins. As the proteins form these new, strong bonds, the water that surrounded each protein molecule when the egg was liquid is forced out. That's why the egg turns hard. |