If water boils at 100 degrees C then why do we see steam when we shower/wash our hands sometimes?

Question

If water boils at 100 degrees C then why do we see steam when we shower/wash our hands sometimes?

In: 12

Answer 1

When water boils to steam, the steam is actually clear and colorless. When you see a fog of “steam”, you are actually seeing the steam turning back into liquid water droplets. Water evaporates below the boiling point. The warmer it is, the quicker it evaporates. So hot water below the boiling point is evaporating quite quickly. As the evaporated water cools down, it recondenses back into tiny liquid droplets that we see as a fog.