Ebullition

From Glossary of Meteorology



ebullition

The boiling of a liquid; specifically, the formation within the liquid of bubbles of that liquid's vapor and the vigorous ascent of the bubbles to the liquid's surface, a process that usually begins at that liquid's nominal boiling point.

Ebullition produces a much greater rate of escape of liquid molecules into the vapor phase than does evaporation, since the effective area for phase change is much greater in a boiling liquid than in a liquid evaporating from the same container, in that each bubble affords surface area for local evaporation.


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