MadSci Network: Physics |
Water remains a gas below 100 deg C due to
saturation
pressure and temperature. “The term saturation temperature
designates the temperature at which vaporization takes place at a given
pressure, and this pressure is called saturation pressure for the given
temperature" - Van Wylen, Gordon J. & Sonntag, Richard E., Fundamentals
of Classical Thermodynamics (3rd ed.) p. 36.
Temperature is
a measure of the mean molecular velocity for a given distribution.
The higher the mean velocity, the higher the temperature.
Since not
all the molecules in a body of water are moving at the same velocity, the
faster
ones my be able to escape; especially from the surface of the water.
A
good example of the relationship between pressure and vaporization
temperature,
is altitude. Notice that at high altitudes, water boils at a lower
temperature. The lower pressure over the surface of the body of water
permits the molecules to escape easier. Temperature, pressure, and
volume
of a fluid are closely related to the state of the fluid.
Water may actually exist in all three
states at
once. This is known as the triple point of water. The triple
point of water
occurs when the temperature is 0 deg C, and the pressure is .00603
atmospheres.
Now you may understand that defining H20 as liquid in the range 0 < Temp < 100 degrees is quite an over simplification. It is a good rule of thumb; however, the mean temperature does not reflect the individual molecular velocities. It is just an average over the distribution.
Note: Heat is the transfer of temperature;
therefore,
heat is not a property. It only occurs at the interface between two bodies of
different temperatures. Heat
transferred to a system is considered to be positive.
[note added by MadSci Admin: There is a VERY GOOD previous answer posted on
the MadSci network here. Go to the excellent Web page at the University of
Florida referenced in that answer for some GREAT phase diagrams. - - admin]
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