The process of evaporation is relevant, especially when it comes to understanding how a swimming pool starts evaporating and how the water level gets lower. All of these mentions are driven by the process of evaporation. But, not much is really known about it. One problem is how much fast a liquid, will transform and steam up to become vapor (gas). Relevant questions will be at what is the temperature is when liquid, starts converting to water vapor?
Scientists call it a temperature discontinuity when it happens. Altogether, these questions have made it hard to create processes that fully take advantage of evaporation. Studies at the University of Houston may have a solution to the problem. It might explain how temperature discontinuity will work at that particular interface. There might be something after 20 years of studies conducted. Results were published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry.
One of the first discoveries of temperature discontinuities was made public by Canadian researchers G. Fang and C.A. Ward, in 1999. Their observation was that the explanation of evaporation was not fully answered via classical mechanics. The recent discovery by the latest studies might give more conclusive answers to the unknown variable of temperature discontinuity.
Researcher Hadi Ghasemi, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UH confirmed that new experiments will solve the bottleneck. This means all the complex models and simulations will be cleared up when it comes to explaining evaporation better.
Physics that governs the mechanism of evaporation, to the minutest molecules in the smallest space will lead to a precise theory about the evaporation rate. In a way, according to Ghasemi, this gives clarity to many findings that do not mesh to cause more confusion. It might be the answer everyone is looking for in the last twenty years or so. His co-author has added more knowledge to help push their study along.
During laboratory experiments to address what needs to be answered, it was a failure to get a spatial resolution. As far as answers where considered, they were not getting anywhere. One of their calculations was a computational approach to the problem. Trying to detect whatever characteristics of water there was in the distance of a few molecules.
They attempted to find an answer with the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method, which allows the scientists to allow more precise simulation of systems. All these processes use the theory of evaporation as the basis, to reach a conclusion to the ultimate answer.
Once all the results are gathered to know how the mechanics of evaporation does work. All the simulations and models how to come up with bleeding-edge technology to make better use of steam-driven energy systems. At face value, evaporation is simple, but getting the desired results will open up more uses and applications. Examples will be for cleaner energy, consumer electronics, photonics, and more fields that can be used for the evaporation powered tech.
One attractive aspect of evaporation is the simplicity of the process, with more data from tailored experiments that should get the answers.
Read: Researchers solve a scientific mystery about evaporation
