what happens at a sub microscopic level when water evaporates?

Question

what happens at a sub microscopic level when water evaporates?

Answer 1

Michael S is right.

Pix is way off. Absolutely nothing happens to the bonding together of H and O. This is not a chemical reaction; it's a physical change.

What happens is that a molecule of water absorbs heat and increases its activity to a level where the forces attracting it to other water molecules are weaker than its tendency to move independently. It then floats off as a gas molecule.

Answer 2

Because oceans are so vast, the water that evaporates simply rains back down into it. If you could form some kind of system that evaporates salt water, and then separately makes that evaporated water back into H2O, yes, it would be fresh. Salt does not evaporate. If you leave a small glass of salt water out for a couple days, only dry salt will be left behind. It is actually a laborious process that can make salt water drinkable.

Answer 3

Nothing happens at all. Evaporation is just the H2O molecules 'floating' away one after another. It does not change anything molecularly.

Answer 4

actuator is correct, but let's clarify the scale. At a microscopic scale, you can't tell what's happening. actuator answered at the molecular scale. at the sub-molecular or subatomic scale, nothing changes.

Answer 5

If its 100% water nothing will be left behind but if it was tap water it would leave behind the minerals. If it was salt water it would leave behind salt crystals

Answer 6

The molecules get further and further apart and move faster?
......Thats just a guess

Answer 7

The hydrogen and oxygen atoms lose their bond to one another.

Answer 8

It goes bye-bye... LOL

Answer 9

it dissapears