People all over the world use water every day – it’s one of life’s most precious resources. Evaporation, we all know what is is. Yet some of us are unaware of this paramount process that is apparently happening on the Earth while you’re reading this. It is the process in which liquid water changes from a liquid to a gas state, which is also known as water vapor.The atmosphere is the gas layer that envelopes the planet and it is the region where all gas forms are held in place by the rotatory motion of the earth.Well, if you’ve ever wondered why dry air makes us thirsty and causes our skin to feel sticky, then this is the article for you. We’re going to break down exactly what happens when water evaporates and explore some interesting ways that people harness its power. But do we know about the process of water evaporation and how it changes depending on weather conditions?So, without further ado, let’s dive in.If you liked our suggestions for do you know everything about water evaporation, then why not take a look at evaporation and fun facts about water?Water CycleA saturation state is a state when evaporation and condensation (opposite of evaporation) are on the same page and at which the relative humidity of air is 100%At the tropospheric level, the air is cooler and the liquid water vapor cools down by releasing heat and itself converting into water droplets by the process called condensation.Water vapor can also condense near the ground and form fog when the temperature is relatively lower. If droplets of water gather around clouds and become heavy with time, it falls back to the ground as rain, snow, and other types of precipitation.Studies show that around 104122.14 mi³ (434000 km³) of liquid water evaporates into the atmosphere every year.To compensate for it, water precipitates into oceans and waters. Less water evaporates over land than it falls on the land as rain.Precipitation is what happens after the seawater is evaporated. The water falls back from clouds to the surface of the earth.Precipitation is critical to replenish water and without the precipitation process, the earth would be a desert.The precipitation volume and time events affect both the water level and water quality of the land.Similarly, evaporation and heat exchange processes play a role as they can cool the sea surface.With the ocean holding 97% of the water on earth, 78% of precipitation happens in the ocean, contributing to the 86% of evaporation rate that happens on earth.Evapotranspiration (ET) is the totality of evaporation and plant transpiration. The latter is the water movement in the plants and loss of the same as vapor. It is a critical part of the water cycle.In the same cycle, sunlight warms the water surface as the water molecules evaporate. Similarly, ocean salt water is exposed to the sun every day.Lake evaporation is a sensitive indicator of the hydrological response to climate change. Lakes are subject to evaporation and it mainly happens in dry places.Boiling Point Of WaterBubbles arise and boiling happens when atoms or molecules of a liquid spread out sufficiently to transition from the liquid to gas phase.When the particles in a water molecule are heated, the particles absorb the energy given, increasing their kinetic energy and causing the individual particles to move more.The intense vibrations produced eventually shatter their links with other particles. Intermolecular bonds and hydrogen bonds are examples of these bonds.The particles are then vaporized and released (gas phase of the liquid). These vapor particles are now exerting pressure in the container, which is referred to as vapor pressure.In the event that this pressure equalizes, and from the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere, the liquid begins to boil.When this temperature is visibly perceived, we refer to it as the ‘boiling point’. A material with strong intermolecular interactions requires more energy to break these bonds and is hence referred to as ‘having a high boiling point’.Water boils at 212° F (100° C) at sea level. Pure liquid water boils at 212 °F (100 °C) at sea level.Pure water boils at roughly 154 °F (68 °C) under the decreased air pressure at the summit of Mount Everest.Water stays liquid at temperatures of 750°F (400°C) surrounding hydrothermal vents in the deep seas, despite enormous pressure.The boiling point of a liquid is affected by temperature, atmospheric pressure, and the liquid’s vapor pressure. It is impacted by the pressure of a gas above it.In an open system, this is referred to as atmospheric pressure. The higher the pressure, the more energy is needed to boil liquids and the higher the boiling point.Higher Atmospheric Pressure = More Energy Needed to Boil = Higher Boiling PointIn an open system, this is represented by air molecules colliding with the liquid’s surface and causing pressure. This pressure spreads throughout the liquid, making it more difficult for bubbles to develop and boiling to occur.Reduced pressure needs less energy to convert a liquid to a gas phase, therefore boiling occurs at a lower temperature.If the external pressure exceeds one atmosphere, the liquid will boil at a temperature greater than its typical boiling point. In a pressure cooker, for example, we raise the pressure until the pressure inside the pressure cooker exceeds one atmosphere.As a result, the water in the cooker boils at a greater temperature, and the food cooks faster.In the opposite case, if the external pressure is less than one atmosphere, the liquid will boil at a lower temperature than its typical boiling point.For example, since the air pressure is lower than the atmosphere at higher altitudes, as in hills and mountains, water boils at a lower temperature than the standard boiling point.Anders Celsius established his temperature scale in 1741 based on the melting and boiling points of water.Evaporation Vs BoilingEvaporation occurs when the molecules in water are pushed away from each other through an increase in temperature. This means that water molecules are scattered around more freely, and they can move more easily when they collide with other particles. The molecules are pushed apart due to the increase in temperature, so this is why evaporating water is often said to be a ‘conveyor belt’ of sorts.At a given pressure, the temperature of the liquid and vapor phases will be in equilibrium with one other.In a pure material, the transition from the liquid to the gas phase happens at the boiling point.As a consequence, the boiling point is the temperature at which the liquid’s vapor pressure matches the applied pressure.The general boiling point is at one atmosphere of pressure. Although it might be obvious, the basic principle of evaporation also applies to liquids that have a higher boiling point.For example, water boils at 212° F (100˚C) at standard pressure, so if we heat it, evaporation will happen at a slightly lower temperature. The boiling point of a substance helps in identifying and characterizing it.Greater-pressure water has a higher boiling point than lower-pressure water.The vapor pressure rises as the temperature rises; near the boiling point, bubbles of vapor develop inside the liquid and rise to heat. At higher elevations, the boiling point temperature is lower.Amazing Facts About Water EvaporationOne of the first things that you might have noticed is that evaporation makes your breath feel hot, and your skin feel sticky. This is because evaporating water vapor carries away some of the moisture in our breath and on our skin.To understand the basic principle of water evaporation, there are four steps involved in the transition from a warm water body to a cool environment.Evaporation from large water surfaces. As we mentioned above, evaporation occurs due to the motion caused by temperature increase, but this isn’t always reliable.Water vapor in the air condenses into clouds and then falls back to the land surface as rain or snow.Water condenses on a list of earth’s surfaces like the ground, tree trunks, clothing, plants, and other objects.The evaporation of water molecules from these surfaces makes the overall temperature drop.These are the four steps that we mentioned above and they’re fairly straightforward. But there are a few forces that can impact how much water evaporates and how long it takes to evaporate.We tend to think of evaporation as a completely random process, but there are a few important factors that are often overlooked: air temperature, air humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and earth’s surface reflectivity.Air temperature: Evaporation is dependent on several factors including temperature, but it’s the rate of change in ambient air temperature that causes evaporation to be more or less fast.Here’s why: when the air temperature increases, water molecules move faster and they collide with other molecules at a higher rate. This means that there is more chance for them to move away from each other, which increases the overall temperature of the air.Air humidity: In a similar fashion, evaporation is also more or less dependent on air humidity. A decrease in the air’s relative humidity causes evaporation to increase. This might sound odd, but water is less likely to evaporate when it’s saturated with water vapor- but only when it’s humid.Evaporation increases when the air becomes more saturated with water vapor, so the relative humidity drops.Wind speed and direction: Of all of these factors, evaporation is strongly dependent on wind speed and direction. A strong wind will blow moisture away from where it started, which means that evaporation is effectively increased by a strong wind in this case.Barometric pressure: Similarly, barometric pressure has a profound effect on evaporation as well. A decrease in barometric pressure means more water is available to evaporate and more of it can evaporate before condensation occurs. A decrease in barometric pressure causes evaporation to increase, but only if it’s not too strong.Surface reflectivity: Finally, the last factor that we’re going to mention is surface reflectivity. If the surface is more reflective then there is less of an impact it has on evaporation. This means that water evaporates faster when it hits a dark surface, and it evaporates slower when it hits a light surface.

People all over the world use water every day – it’s one of life’s most precious resources.