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What is steam???


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Steam is either mist (as seen from a kettle), or the gas phase of water (water vapour).

In common speech, steam most often refers to the visible white mist that condenses above boiling water as the hot vapour mixes with the cooler air. This mist consists of tiny droplets of liquid water. Pure steam emerges at the base of the spout of a steaming kettle where there is no visible vapour.

Pure steam is a transparent gas. At standard temperature and pressure, pure steam (unmixed with air, but in equilibrium with liquid water) occupies about 1,600 times the volume of an equal mass of liquid water. In the atmosphere, the partial pressure of water is much lower than 1 atm, therefore gaseous water can exist at temperatures much lower than 100 °C (212 °F) (see water vapor and humidity).

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And that's how steam works...

(Sorry, couldn't resist. People of a certain age will remember who the bloke in the photo is ;) )

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