- Evaporation – Wikipedia: This Wikipedia page provides a comprehensive overview of evaporation. It covers the role of evaporation in the water cycle, its connection to transpiration, and its significance in hydrology and climate modeling. The page also discusses the thermodynamics of evaporation and its various applications, such as evaporative cooling and agriculture. Additionally, it includes related topics like evaporator, evapotranspiration, and sublimation.
- Evapotranspiration – Wikipedia: This Wikipedia article focuses on evapotranspiration, which is the combined process of water movement from the Earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It explains the components of evapotranspiration, its importance in the local water cycle and climate, and its measurement for agricultural irrigation and water resource management. The page also delves into the definition of evapotranspiration and its relationship to transpiration and evaporation.
- Evaporator – Wikipedia: This Wikipedia entry discusses evaporators as heat exchanger devices that facilitate evaporation through conductive and convective heat. It details the components of an evaporator assembly, its applications in various industries such as air conditioning, refrigeration, and the food industry, and the types of evaporators. The page also covers the principles of evaporation, types of evaporators, and their uses in different processes.
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Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. A high concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evaporation, such as when humidity affects rate of evaporation of water. When the molecules of the liquid collide, they transfer energy to each other based on how they collide. When a molecule near the surface absorbs enough energy to overcome the vapor pressure, it will escape and enter the surrounding air as a gas. When evaporation occurs, the energy removed from the vaporized liquid will reduce the temperature of the liquid, resulting in evaporative cooling.
On average, only a fraction of the molecules in a liquid have enough heat energy to escape from the liquid. The evaporation will continue until an equilibrium is reached when the evaporation of the liquid is equal to its condensation. In an enclosed environment, a liquid will evaporate until the surrounding air is saturated.
Evaporation is an essential part of the water cycle. The sun (solar energy) drives evaporation of water from oceans, lakes, moisture in the soil, and other sources of water. In hydrology, evaporation and transpiration (which involves evaporation within plant stomata) are collectively termed evapotranspiration. Evaporation of water occurs when the surface of the liquid is exposed, allowing molecules to escape and form water vapor; this vapor can then rise up and form clouds. With sufficient energy, the liquid will turn into vapor.