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First you have to understand a little about latent heat of vaporisation.

When a liquid turns into a gas, all the bonds between the liquid particles have to be broken. That is why water will boil at a constant temperature no matter how much more energy you add. All of that energy is being used to break the bonds between the molecules. Conversely, when a gas condenses to form a liquid it forms bonds and the latent heat of vaporisation is released. If your arm is above a kettle and even a small amount of steam touches you, then it will condense on your skin and the latent heat of vaporisation is released with a burn of great severity compared to the tiny amount of water that condensed. Ouch.

Secondly, the steam that we can see has already begun to condense otherwise we would not be able to see it. The most dangerous vapour is the water molecules that are still so hot that we can not see them as they have the most energy to impart. That is why reaching across a kettle or pot on the stove can be painful as we can not see the "steam".

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Q: Why is steam burns normally worse than boiling water burns?
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What cause more burns steam or boiling water?

Steam. Liquids turn to solids when they reach a temperature, so steam has to be hotter than boiling water.


Why are steam burns on the skin so severe?

It is not really more. Steam is the gas form of water, and thus hotter than the liquid form. 1000C (at 1au at sea level) is the boiling point of water. 400C water will not burn you, but 990C will. Steam at 1010C will burn you, but steam at 5000C would burn worse. So your answer is steam is hotter, but how much more of a burn you get also has to do with the amount of steam or water you come in contact with, and the temperature the steam or water is.


Why does steam give you more burns that water?

steam is the gaseous transformation that takes place on heating water to its boiling point.Steam will give you more burn than the water boiling at 100 c as it has the latent heat of vapourisation in addition to the heat of fusion.Basically it has more heat content in the steam state than boiling water state.


Why is steam at 100degree celsius more dangerous than water at 100degree celsius?

Because when in contact with human skin steam condenses into boiling water. This causes the serious damages seen in steam burns.


Is steam hotter than boiling water?

Technically speaking steam has a higher temperature, but boiling water often has more heat energy per volume. Steam starts at 100degrees C, which is the absolute maximum temperature of boiling water, but steam can be much much hotter, all the way up to thousands of degrees. However, steam as a gas is much less dense than water, and so steam at 100C will injure a person much less than water at 100C.

Related questions

What cause more burns steam or boiling water?

Steam. Liquids turn to solids when they reach a temperature, so steam has to be hotter than boiling water.


Why burn caused due to steam is more severe than the boiling water at same temperature?

steam causes severe burns because of change of state i.e. liquid to gas with effects our skin. where as boiling water is only liquid which is hot but it does not effect the skin more than water.Thus higher the temperature of steam as compared to water. cause more severe burns than boiling water


Why are steam burns on the skin so severe?

It is not really more. Steam is the gas form of water, and thus hotter than the liquid form. 1000C (at 1au at sea level) is the boiling point of water. 400C water will not burn you, but 990C will. Steam at 1010C will burn you, but steam at 5000C would burn worse. So your answer is steam is hotter, but how much more of a burn you get also has to do with the amount of steam or water you come in contact with, and the temperature the steam or water is.


Why steam at 100 degree centigrade produces more severe burns then boiling water at 100 degree centigrade?

Steam has enough kinetic energy to leave the liquid water that is boiling, so it's greater amount of energy results in more severe burns than boiling water, which has a lower amount of energy.


Why does steam give you more burns that water?

steam is the gaseous transformation that takes place on heating water to its boiling point.Steam will give you more burn than the water boiling at 100 c as it has the latent heat of vapourisation in addition to the heat of fusion.Basically it has more heat content in the steam state than boiling water state.


Why does steam cause more severe skin burns than liquid water at its boiling point?

Hot water has a maximum temperature of 100 degrees centigrade. If it goes beyond that it is now steam. Steam burns are more dangerous because they are much hotter than water.


Why is steam at 100degree celsius more dangerous than water at 100degree celsius?

Because when in contact with human skin steam condenses into boiling water. This causes the serious damages seen in steam burns.


Why is steam hotter then boiling water?

because steam is boiling water is hot it turns into a gas therefore you get steam


Which produce severe burns boiling water or steam?

Steam has more heat capacity than boiling water by its condensing to liquid and after that it'll conduct heat better as being liquified.Added:Steam causes more severe burns as compared to boiling water because steam contains more heat (i.e 40.6 kJ/mol condensation heat) then boiling water, both at the same temperature 100 oC.From that condensation is momentanous when in contact with skin, after being liquefied it behaves the same as boiling water: still 100 oC and cooling down is slower than condensation.


What happens to water at one hundred degrees centigrade?

it boils If you mean "one-hundred degrees Celsius (degrees C)," then that is water's boiling point. What this means is that this is the maximum temperature water can be before it turns to steam. Steam can be much hotter than water because of this, making steam burns more serious than water burns.


Why does steam at 373 Kelvin give severe burns?

373.15 K = 100°C = 212°F = boiling point of water at sea level Steam at that temperature causes severe burns because it is very hot, and because water is very efficient at transferring heat. The steam also has a significantly greater amount of heat than liquid water just below the boiling point, because the steam also has the latent heat of vaporization.


Why is steam made when boiling water?

Steam is the gaseous form of water above its boiling point. When you see 'steam', that is not really steam, it's warm-water droplets in the air.