Steam is formed at 100°C but I see “steam” being produced at less than that temperature. What is that and why isn’t it steam?
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To add to what others are saying about water vapor vs. steam, unless you’re beign super exact, 100 degrees is the *average* temperature. Local pockets may be more or less as they get closer to or further away from a heat source. It’s possible you’re really seeing a bit of steam that hasn’t cooled down yet.
a thing has got a state of aggregation, that means, it is solid, fluid, gas or plasma (like a flame for example). every thing can have different states of aggregation, water can be ice, water or steam. to change from one state to another, a big amount of energy is necessary. we dont realize it when water melts, because we do not feel hot at temperatures that melt ice, but in fact we are.
now if water turns into steam, the energy inside the pot is not the same everywhere. the water moves up, colder and hoter water mix up and than there are areas where there is enough energy to jump from fluid to steam and other areas, where it is not hot enough.
its a little bit like doves on the ground picking food and than a crow flies over them. the doves that are near to the crow feel fear first, so they start first flying away, while the others see the crow later and stay longer. the crow is the energy that is necessary to make the doves start.
As another comment explains steam, or water vapor, isn’t visible. We tend to associate visible small droplets of water suspended in air with steam, even though it’s a different thing. That occurs because shifts in temperature affect how much water vapor air will hold, and a jet of actual water vapor (coming out of a kettle on the stove, for example) will appear cloud-like, because 100 C water vapor will mix with cooler air, condensing out tiny visible droplets, which will be reabsorbed in gas form again into surrounding air, instead of forming a tiny rain cloud over your stove.
A cloud is the same sort of thing, or fog is, droplets suspended in air because a shift in temperature changed how much moisture the air could hold. Then actual rain might occur, or in the case of fog some degree of dew is going to happen (connected with the concept of dew point, the temperature at which water vapor in air is going to change phase in that way).
Moving off this central topic, tea enthusiasts (which I am one of) sometimes age-transition some tea types (sheng pu’er, mostly), helping it ferment over time, by storing it in relatively humid controlled environments. If you get the shift in temperature input all wrong you might trigger condensation, which goes very badly for stored tea, because it will become damp, and mold quickly. It’s rare for this to happen because temperatures don’t usually shift quickly inside your house, especially in some closed closet or cabinet area, but once in awhile people will ask why moving a box of tea from one place to another caused this (condensation and mold), and temperature change is a likely reason.
As another comment explains steam, or water vapor, isn’t visible. We tend to associate visible small droplets of water suspended in air with steam, even though it’s a different thing. That occurs because shifts in temperature affect how much water vapor air will hold, and a jet of actual water vapor (coming out of a kettle on the stove, for example) will appear cloud-like, because 100 C water vapor will mix with cooler air, condensing out tiny visible droplets, which will be reabsorbed in gas form again into surrounding air, instead of forming a tiny rain cloud over your stove.
A cloud is the same sort of thing, or fog is, droplets suspended in air because a shift in temperature changed how much moisture the air could hold. Then actual rain might occur, or in the case of fog some degree of dew is going to happen (connected with the concept of dew point, the temperature at which water vapor in air is going to change phase in that way).
Moving off this central topic, tea enthusiasts (which I am one of) sometimes age-transition some tea types (sheng pu’er, mostly), helping it ferment over time, by storing it in relatively humid controlled environments. If you get the shift in temperature input all wrong you might trigger condensation, which goes very badly for stored tea, because it will become damp, and mold quickly. It’s rare for this to happen because temperatures don’t usually shift quickly inside your house, especially in some closed closet or cabinet area, but once in awhile people will ask why moving a box of tea from one place to another caused this (condensation and mold), and temperature change is a likely reason.
A material’s temperature is a measurement of how much its molecules are jiggling around. A liquid like water turns into a gas when its molecules jiggle hard enough to escape the liquid’s surface.
At 100 degrees celsius, all of the molecules are jiggling hard enough to escape, but even at lower temperatures some molecules will be jiggling in just the right way to escape anyway, or they’ll be knocked out by other molecules.
A material’s temperature is a measurement of how much its molecules are jiggling around. A liquid like water turns into a gas when its molecules jiggle hard enough to escape the liquid’s surface.
At 100 degrees celsius, all of the molecules are jiggling hard enough to escape, but even at lower temperatures some molecules will be jiggling in just the right way to escape anyway, or they’ll be knocked out by other molecules.
Water is evaporating under 100°C as well, just at a slower rate.
100°C is special because water is not only evaporating, but also boiling. What separates the 2 is that evaporation can only happen on the surface, while boiling also takes place from within the body of water.
Water is evaporating under 100°C as well, just at a slower rate.
100°C is special because water is not only evaporating, but also boiling. What separates the 2 is that evaporation can only happen on the surface, while boiling also takes place from within the body of water.
water evaporates at any temperature (at least between 0°C and 100°C).
Otherwise you would not have foggy roads in the morning and your clothes wouldn’t get dry.
water evaporates at any temperature (at least between 0°C and 100°C).
Otherwise you would not have foggy roads in the morning and your clothes wouldn’t get dry.
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