Submitted by ivy-claw t3_10l3cdv in askscience
Angdrambor t1_j5wob3l wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in How hot is the steam coming out of nuclear power plants? by ivy-claw
>Steam is droplets of liquid water suspended in the air which appears white due to light scattering.
>
>Vapor is colorless and transparent. You cannot see it.
When I took thermo in my country, we refered to it the other way around. Steam is the invisible gas phase, "vapor" is the white cloud of liquid droplets.
lichlord t1_j5wrrfh wrote
Was it thermo taught by scientists or engineers?
Thermo in chemistry and physics usually simplifies steam into gaseous water.
In engineering thermo courses the focus is less in phases and equations of state, and more on work and transformations. Engineering thermo will often distinguish between wet, dry, and superheated steam.
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