If water boils at 100°C, and boiling is the process of turning liquid into gas, why are bathrooms full of steam when showering at only 40°C?

Question

If water boils at 100°C, and boiling is the process of turning liquid into gas, why are bathrooms full of steam when showering at only 40°C?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

Water evaporates at all temperatures. Clothes suspended in the sunshine still dry, even though the water temperature is nowhere near 100°C. The air contains evaporated water (we call that “air humidity”) from which the clouds form, even though the temperature is way below 100°C.

Even frozen water slowly evaporates through a process called sublimation.

Think of it like this: below 100°C water can be either gas *or* liquid. Above 100°C is gas only.