Submitted by ivy-claw t3_10l3cdv in askscience
[deleted] t1_j5vbsyx wrote
Reply to comment by MTGamer in How hot is the steam coming out of nuclear power plants? by ivy-claw
[deleted]
smurficus103 t1_j5wje17 wrote
You're totally diffusing water into the atmosphere right nowz, aren't ya?
graebot t1_j5yj1aq wrote
Clouds are water vapour, but I wouldn't refer to them as steam. Technically, steam is invisible, and exists above 100 C at 1 atmosphere. Only once it drops below the vapour point (100C @ 1 Atm) does it start condensing into water vapour. Water vapour is not steam, it's just liquid water droplets suspended in air.
When steam is used to do work, it starts as high pressure, high temperature, and as it does work, the pressure reduces, and the temperature with it, and after doing work you're usually left with water vapor as the spent product.
blanchasaur t1_j5yrprq wrote
No, that's not quite right. Water vapor is definitely a gas, you can't see humidity. Clouds are a suspension of liquid water in the air, not water vapor.
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