the rice cooker works by heating a plate at the bottom of the pan. The inner pot of the rice cooker will then heat up through conduction as it sits on the heating plate. When you turn on the cooker, the inner pot will heat up bring the water in it to a boil, and then it will remain at this temperature until all the water is gone. When the last drop of water has evaporated, the built in temperature sensors will detect the rise in temperature and then either automatically trigger the rice cooker to switch to Keep Warm mode or turn itself off. It’s very simple to use but it also has limited functions and features – you can only cook rice and keep it warm for a short period of time. It’s only advantage over the other kinds of rice cookers is its cheap price.