When heating up soup, steam billows only after turning off the burner. Why?

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I think about this every time I eat a can of soup.

In: Chemistry

Anonymous 0 Comments

When the heat is on, the pot is surrounded by hot air rising up around it and the evaporating water is carried up and dissipates in to the air in the room gradually.

When you turn the heat off, the evaporating water then suddenly hits the relatively colder air in the room and condenses a bit so it’s more visible.

It’s like the difference between exhaling in the summer vs exhaling in the winter when you can see your breath.