What is Steam?
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Steam is an invisible gas that's generated by heating water to a temperature that brings it to the boiling point. When this happens, water changes its physical state and vaporizes, turning from a liquid into a gas.
Conversely, when heat energy is removed from steam, it loses its ability to retain a gaseous state and condenses back into a liquid. We refer to the resulting liquid as condensate. The temperature at which condensation takes place is known as the dew point. |
What is NOT Steam?
Various forms of condensate are sometimes incorrectly referred to as steam; however, they lack the molecular makeup of a gas.
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The mist rising above relatively warm water on a cool day is water vapor condensing in the air. | |
| The droplets on your bathroom mirror are formed when water condenses out of the relatively warm air onto the cooler surface of the mirror. |  |
The process of condensation happens quickly. Steam leaving a teakettle immediately condenses into the air, creating the mist we associate with steam. Water dropped on the stones of a sauna first explodes into steam, then rapidly re-condenses when it meets the cooler air.
