Pressure – Understanding Why Liquids Boil When Vapor Pressure Equals Ambient Pressure

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Given that the boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which the vapor pressure is equal to the ambient (surrounding) pressure, what significance does a liquid's vapor pressure have in the formation of bubbles that happens at and above the boiling point?

The definition of boiling point seems to imply that the pressure inside of the bubbles must be at least as great as the liquid's vapor pressure in order to balance the outside pressure, but is there any particular reason why the pressure inside of the bubbles is related to the vapor pressure?

The vapor pressure seems to be a measurement describing the tendency of the molecules to escape from the surface of the liquid, but I don't see how that relates to bubble formation within the liquid.

This question has bothered me for a while, so any help would be much appreciated.

Best Answer

When you heat water on the stove top, you see bubbles forming on the bottom of the pot. The bubbles are created where the heat applied (if you move the pot, you see the bubbles forming in a different spot) and is sufficient to convert the liquid into a vapor (less heat would just heat the water). These bubbles form even though the water is below its boiling point (when the bubble detaches and rises, it sometimes disappears, which means the water absorbed the heat from the bubble).

Once the water reaches the boiling point, the water doesn't increase in temperature. It just evaporates at the speed needed to equal the amount of heat added to the water. If the heat is enough, it was boil.

but is there any particular reason why the pressure inside of the bubbles is related to the vapor pressure?

At the bottom of the pot, the pressure would be the vapor pressure plus the depth of the liquid.

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