When boiling water, the level of water decreases and will disappear after a while. I guess this has something to do with the condensation of water vapour into the visible white "steam" or "cloud". What is above the "cloud"? Does the water molecules just escape? I thought they would go back to liquid water through condensation? I'm confused.
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1$\begingroup$ "condensation" means turning back into liquid form, but it does not mean that the liquid returns to the pot. What happens is, steam mixes with cooler air above the pot, and immediately condenses out into a cloud of microscopic droplets. Then convection causes the cloud to rise, and further mix with the air, and the tiny droplets evaporate again. The water in the pot, all ends up as water vapor, mixed in with the air. $\endgroup$– Solomon SlowCommented May 8, 2018 at 20:08
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1$\begingroup$ P.S., If you do it in a closed room on a cold day, the water may start to condense, a second time, on the room's cold window panes. $\endgroup$– Solomon SlowCommented May 8, 2018 at 20:09
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when you boil water, you convert it into water vapor, which leaves the pot and mixes with the atmosphere. If you boil the pot long enough, eventually all the water in it is converted to vapor and leaves. the pot is then empty.
answered May 8, 2018 at 20:08