Evaporation

Water Cycle

Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs from the surface of a liquid into a gaseous phase that is not saturated with the evaporating substance. The other type of vaporization is boiling, which is characterized by bubbles of saturated vapor forming in the liquid phase.

On average, a fraction of the molecules in a glass of water have enough heat energy to escape from the liquid. The reverse also happens — water molecules from the air enter the water in the glass — but as long as the relative humidity of the air in contact is less than 100% (i.e., saturation), the net transfer of water molecules will be to the air. The water in the glass will be cooled by the evaporation until an equilibrium is reached where the air supplies the amount of heat removed by the evaporating water. In an enclosed environment the water would evaporate until the air is saturated.