The critical temp of sulfur dioxide is 157.2C while that of water is 374.0C What does this indicate about ...?

Question

The critical temp of sulfur dioxide is 157.2C while that of water is 374.0C What does this indicate about the polarity of the sulfur dioxide molecules compared to that of the water molecules?

Answer 1

Critical temperature is only part of the story. A critical point is identified by both a temperature and pressure. That aside, SO2 is less polar than is water, noting that the SO2 molecule weights almost 4 time as much as that of water. SO2 is a gas at room temperature, but can be compressed to a liquid at moderately cold temperature and pressure, and was used in early refrigeration units for that reason.