When cooking food and you turn OFF the gas, why does a lot more steam rise up than when the heat was on?

Question

And when the gas is turned back on, the steam subsides…?

In: Physics

Answer 1

You’re not seeing steam, you’re seeing water vapour. Steam is an invisible gas, water vapour is what happens when steam cools a little and starts to condense out into the air, or what comes off hot water.

When you turn the heat off the production of new steam stops immediately, so all you see is the water vapour coming off the hot water.

Turn the heat back on, and steam starts being produced again which as I say, is invisible.