What produces more severe burns, boiling water or steam?
Answer:
Steam causes more severe burns than boiling water at the same temperature (100°C).
Reasons:
Latent Heat of Vaporization
- Steam contains extra energy in the form of latent heat of vaporization, which it absorbed during the phase change from liquid to gas.
- When steam condenses back into water on the skin, it releases this extra heat, causing more severe burns than boiling water.
Higher Heat Transfer
- Steam transfers more heat energy to the skin compared to boiling water because gases have higher energy content than liquids at the same temperature.
- This results in deeper and more painful burns.
Thus, steam at 100°C causes more severe burns than boiling water at 100°C due to the release of latent heat during condensation.