Hot plate

[1][2] A hot plate or hotplate is a heated flat surface on a stove or electric cooker on which food may be cooked.

A hotplate may be a portable self-contained tabletop small appliance cooktop, or incorporated into an electric cooker or kitchen stove.

[4] Portable hot plates are often used for food preparation, generally in locations where a full kitchen stove would not be convenient or practical.

In a student laboratory, hot plates are used because baths can be hazards if they spill, overheat or ignite because they have high thermal inertia (meaning they take a long time to cool down) and mantles can be very expensive and are designed for specific flask volumes.

Another method, called a teepee setup because it looks a little like a tipi, is to suspend glassware above a plate and surround the flask by a skirt of tinfoil.

Corrosion-resistant hotplates using special material and protective coatings are used in mining and related industries to heat samples of toxic chemicals.