vaporization: Evaporation and Vapor Pressure

Liquids can also change to gases at temperatures below their boiling points. Vaporization of a liquid below its boiling point is called evaporation, which occurs at any temperature when the surface of a liquid is exposed in an unconfined space. When, however, the surface is exposed in a confined space and the liquid is in excess of that needed to saturate the space with vapor, an equilibrium is quickly reached between the number of molecules of the substance going off from the surface and those returning to it. A change in temperature upsets this equilibrium; a rise in temperature, for example, increases the activity of the molecules at the surface and consequently increases the rate at which they fly off. When the temperature is maintained at the new point for a short time, a new equilibrium is soon established.

The pressure exerted by the vapor of a liquid in a confined space is called its vapor pressure. It differs for different substances at any given temperature, but each substance has a specific vapor pressure for each given temperature. At its boiling point the vapor pressure of a liquid is equal to atmospheric pressure. For example, the vapor pressure of water, measured in terms of the height of mercury in a barometer, is 4.58 mm at 0℃ and 760 mm at 100℃ (its boiling point).

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Evaporation and Vapor Pressure
• The Boiling Point and Latent Heat of Vaporization

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