Which burns more ------ steam or boiled water? Why?

Answer 1

Steam because it has latent heat - energy input is required to make 100 C water into 100 C steam (because the molecules attract each other, and you have to move them from closer together in the liquid to further apart in the gas), so when it changes back to water at 100 C, that energy is released in the form of heat.

Edit: Steam can be hotter too, but this is not something you will encounter unless the steam is heated AFTER it is released into the air. That is why in normal terms the latent heat - more properly 'the latent heat of vaporisation' is more important.

Answer 2

The steam .....

In the process of boiling liquid takes the heat from other source to keep itself boiling . As our skin cannot provide the energy (latent heat) required for boiling of water it gets cooled and energy is transferred from water to skin by sensible heat transfer mode

While for steam the steam can give out energy to condense itself on the surface of skin this energy of condensation is far much greater than the sensible heat.

so on eposure of same quatity of steam and boiling water the steam burns more than boiling water

Answer 3

Steam, because it's electrons are more active and excited than in the boiling water. The energy is moving faster and greater distances in the gaseous state than the liquid, and also it burns more and is more dangerous because it is actually hotter thanthe boiling water. If you couldmanage to put your hand into a boiling pot, the water would not burn your hand-but the steam would.

Answer 4

Steam. Why? Steam has more potential energy than water. After water has heated up to the point of vaporization, the steam continues to heat up. Theoretically, steam could continue to heat up until it undergoes a fission reaction, therefore breaking into electrons, protons, and neutrons, but that would require a tremendously huge amount of energy, and it would break into hydrogen and oxygen long before *that*....
but I digress.
Steam is hotter, simply because the molecules of steam are moving at greater speeds than molecules of water, even heated water. This increased kinetic energy is then released when the water molecules strike your arm, transfering the energy as heat.

Answer 5

Steam because it has a higher heat content than boiled water

Answer 6

When steam at 100 C contacts your skin it turns to water at 100C and gives up latent heat of condensation. So it burns more than water at the same temperature.

Answer 7

Steam is hotter! I believe it is about 400 degrees, while boiling water is maybe 212 degrees.

Answer 8

steam can get hotter than boiling water especially under pressure

Answer 9

steam. boiled water can only be 212 degrees. after that it turns to steam. but steam can be much hotter when compressed.

Answer 10

Steam burns more, because it possesses more heat energy than water.