The Probert Encyclopaedia of Science & Technology

VAPORIZATION

Vaporization is the conversion of a liquid, or less commonly a solid, into a vapour. In the case of a solid the process is called sublimation. Vaporization requires a definite amount of energy, the latent heat, which may be provided by heating, but if vaporization is made to occur without heating, the latent heat will be taken from the surroundings. This is why the cooling of a moistened fingertip tells us when it is facing the wind; the wind evaporates the water, and the vapour takes latent heat out of the finger. The pressure exerted by a vapour of any substance is its vapour pressure.
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