  We present the first experimental observations of scale-free behavior in the
bubble footprint distribution during the boiling crisis of water, in pool and
flow boiling conditions. We formulate a continuum percolation model that
elucidates how the scale-free behavior emerges from the near-wall stochastic
interaction of bubbles and provides a criterion to predict the boiling crisis.
It also offers useful insights on how to engineer surfaces that enhance the
critical heat flux limit.
