Evaporation is simply the process by which liquid turns into a gas. Water (a liquid) turns into vapor (a gas) when heat energy is applied to raise its temperature to 100°C (212°F). Water in the liquid state is a compound, and the heat breaks up the bonds into water molecules, which is gaseous. Diagram of water changing to vapor and rising upward.
Evaporation of water from a water surface – like an open tank, a swimming pool or similar – depends on water temperature, air temperature, air humidity and air velocity above the water surface. The amount of evaporated water can be expressed as: g s = Θ A (x s – x) / 3600 (1) or.
Evaporation is the primary pathway that water moves from the liquid state back into the water cycle as atmospheric water vapor. Studies have shown that the oceans , seas, lakes, and rivers provide nearly 90 percent of the moisture in the atmosphere via evaporation, with the remaining 10 percent being contributed by plant transpiration .
