Is steam technically "hotter" than boiling water?

Question

I know I should know this answer, but it's been a long time. I'm looking for the technical answer, not the "perception" by the body.
Steam seems hotter, but is the "actual temp" higher than in the boiling water?

Answer 1

Steam can hold a lot more heat than water.
You can superheat steam up to 600 degrees.
The hotter the steam gets the faster it will expand and then cool.
Steam actually increases in temp after turning to steam.
As in steam engines the boiler must get high temperatures to quickly turn the water into steam for expansion.
The process is known as latent heat.
Steam will lose heat quickly as steam burns are much worse than water.
Check this link.
http://www.physchem.co.za/Heat/Latent.htm

Answer 2

I think you are asking whether at the instant steam first forms from boiling water is it hotter or the same temperature as the water. Although it takes additional energy to turn water at 212F (100C) into steam, all of this energy goes into changing the state of matter, from liquid to gas, and none of it into heat. So at the instant steam first forms it is the same temperature as boiling water. What temperature the steam thereafter assumes depends upon what is subsequently done to it, i.e. whether energy is added or removed and what is done to it in terms of pressure.

Answer 3

It might be, or it might not be. Steam that has come out of your kettle will quickly cool as it expands and moves away from the source of heat; clouds of visible water vapour can be cool, even cold, as are clouds in the upper atmosphere. But if you contain steam from boiling water and continue to heat it, then of course it will go up in temperature. High temperature steam is used in many industrial processes.

Answer 4

Yes. Steam is gaseous H2O. Water boil at 100C, that is the highest temperature at room pressure that liquid water can reach.
Steam occurs when water has finished boiling and turned into a gas. It can be much hotter than 100C. When you make water hotter than 100C, it turns to steam. By definition, steam is hotter than water.

Answer 5

PEOPLE ARE FORGETING STEAM FORMATION AT WHAT TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE!

WATER WILL CERTAINLY GET CONVERTED INTO STEAM AT 100 DEGREES TEMPERATURE AT ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE.

SO, IF YOU ADD HEAT TO THE WATER IN A CLOSE SYSTEM, SATURATED STEAM WILL GET CONVETED TO SUPERHEATED STEAM WHICH IS MORE HOTTER THAN BOILING WATER.

SEE STEAM TABLE FOR HEAT CAPACITY AT DIFF PRESSURE:

http://www.steamonline.com/sat_steam.html

ALSO YOU CAN CONSIDER THE PRINCIPLE OF NATURAL CONVECTION!
STEAM IS ALWAYS HOTTER THAN BOILING WATER.

Answer 6

Yes. Steam is the result of the breaking of waters molecular bindings by the application of thermal energy. Once in the new state, the water vapor rapidly cools and in a high enough concentration will revert to its prior molecular state.

Answer 7

Water vapor leaves the boiling water mass at 212 degrees, so it is just as hot or less hot that boiling water (because it immediately starts cooling as it hits the air)

Answer 8

Water turns to vapor at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. If you can see it as steam, it is not water vapor any more - it has cooled down enough for you to see it, in effect as a cloud.

Answer 9

In terms of temperature (at atmospheric pressure) no. In terms of heat content yes (It contains the latent heat of vapourisation).

Answer 10

yes it can be a higher temperature than water