April 25, 2013

Steamy Science: Demonstrating Condensation

A fun physics demonstration from Education.com

By Education.com

Key concepts Physics Liquids Gasses Pressure

Introduction Ever wonder where those little drops of water on the outside of your cold can of soda pop or bottle of water come from? That’s condensation! Cold surfaces can cause water vapor in the air to cool down, condense and form tiny beads of liquid. The molecules in these miniscule droplets of water are grouped far more closely together than when they were in their gas phase, and exert less pressure—a fact that has some pretty cool physical implications.

Perhaps you have seen the classic science demonstration where a hard-boiled egg is “sucked” into a bottle using a match. The effect is definitely cool, but understanding how it works is tough. Air molecules are spaced differently and exert different levels of pressure depending on how hot or cold they are. This is a fun experiment where the physics are more observable, the effect more dramatic and the pyrotechnics totally unnecessary.

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Background Molecules, which make up everything around us—including air—are in a constant state of motion. The hotter water molecules become, the faster they move, turning from water (their liquid phase) to steam (their gas phase). When liquid water turns to gas, not only do the molecules move much faster, they also are spaced much farther apart. They spread out so much that they generate pressure by pushing on each other and everything else they come into contact with. What happens when we take the heat source away from that steam? The molecules form liquid water again. This is called condensation.

The air in our atmosphere is also a gas that exerts a fairly strong pressure of its own. This experiment will illustrate what can happen when the changing pressure of condensing steam goes up against the pressure of air, which remains relatively constant.

Materials • One large, thick plastic bottle with a wide neck (an empty, 64-ounce fruit juice bottle will work or a three-gallon water-dispenser jug is great). Use caution with thinner plastic containers—hot water can cause them to melt; and avoid glass—boiling water can cause glass to break. • Small, empty water balloons (Keep more than one handy, in case of breakage.) • Water • Stove • Oven mitt • Pot or teakettle for boiling water (Use caution and adult help when dealing with hot water.)

Procedure • Set a kettle or pot of water to boil on the stove. • While you’re waiting for your water to boil, fill your balloon full of water using a faucet or a hose. Don’t overinflate the balloon! It should be too large to slip through the neck of the bottle via gravity alone but not so large that it would burst were it to get pushed through. • Once your water reaches a rapid boil, very carefully pour it into your bottle to about a quarter of the way full. • Place the filled water balloon in the neck of the bottle. • Stand back and watch as the balloon gets sucked into the bottle. Knowing what we know now about water and steam pressure, why do you think this happens? • Extra: Try sketching a diagram that includes illustrations of what the air and water molecules look like during each phase of the experiment. Read “Observations and Results” below for some hints. • Extra: Suction is a misleading concept. Condensing steam doesn’t have attractive power of its own, like a magnet does. It doesn’t actually pull or suck the balloon into the bottle. When the steam molecules stop pushing out of the bottle, and stop pushing on the balloon, something else outside the bottle becomes strong enough to push the balloon into the bottle—and it’s not gravity. What might it be? • Extra: What happens if the balloon is too big? Why? Observations and Results When the water was heated, its molecules began to move rapidly, turning some into its gas phase: steam. When in a gas phase, water molecules are spaced much farther apart and take up more space. The pressures inside and outside the bottle reach a state of equilibrium, meaning that they are the same. Why? With the neck of the bottle unobstructed, the expanding steam can move from inside the bottle out into the surrounding air.

Here’s when everything changes: When the steam in the bottle starts cooling down and we place the balloon in the bottle’s neck. Without heat, the water molecules inside the bottle start condensing—that is, they start turning from steam back into liquid water. When matter turns from its gas phase back into its liquid phase, the molecules take up much less space and exert far less pressure. In fact, the condensing steam creates a partial vacuum—a region of much lower pressure than that of the surrounding atmosphere—inside the bottle. Remember, unlike the condensing steam the air outside the bottle doesn’t change, and still exerts a pressure of its own. We call the resulting difference between these two areas a pressure gradient. The pressures aren’t able to equalize easily because the balloon blocks the gases from flowing from one area into another. So what happens? The gas on the outside (air) pushes harder than gas on the inside (the condensing steam), so the balloon gets pushed—and pulled—into the bottle.

Another way to describe what happened is to use the word “suction,” because the water balloon was sucked through the neck and into the bottle. But suction can be a misleading concept! What we’re really talking about when we talk about “suction” is a liquid or gas force that pushes on something in the absence of an equal force pushing back. You can crunch an empty water bottle simply by sucking the air out of it. The outside air pressure is what causes the bottle to collapse, because you’ve removed the air inside that was pushing back!

More to explore Condensation Balloon Trick  , from ScienceFix.com Crunch a Can , from Education.com Balloon in a Bottle: An Air Pressure Experiment , from Education.com Balloon Air Pressure Magic , from Education.com

This activity brought to you in partnership with  Education.com

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Have you ever noticed the wetness that forms on the outside of a cold glass or can of soda? Where do you think that moisture comes from? Try this experiment to see if you can figure it out!

Here's what to do:

  • Put ice cubes into two clear plastic cups until they are about ½-full.
  • Pour cold water into both cups so they are each about ¾-full.
  • Quickly place one of the cups in a zip-closing plastic bag. Try to get as much air out as you can and then close the bag securely. You should have two identical cups of ice and water. One cup should be exposed to the air and the other should be in a bag, not exposed to the air.

Ice and water in cup with one in closed plastic bag.

  • Ask your adult partner to use scissors to cut the coffee filter into two equal-size pieces.  
  • Rub one piece of the coffee filter on the outside of the cup that has been exposed to the air. Check the paper to see if it looks wet. What do you notice?
  • Now rub the other piece of coffee filter on the outside of the cup that has been in the bag and not exposed to the air. Check the paper to see if it looks wet. What do you notice?

Brown paper towel shows outside of cup that was not in bag is wet.

What to expect

There should be moisture on the outside of the cup that was exposed to the air and much less moisture on the outside of the cup that was in the bag.

What's happening in there?

Most air, except for in very dry places, has water molecules mixed in with the other molecules that make up the air. When water molecules in the air get cold, they slow down, join together, and become tiny drops of liquid water. This process is called condensation. This is what happens when water molecules in the air touch the outside of the cold cup that is exposed to air. Not much air touches the cup in the bag so not much moisture can form on it. 

What else could you try?

If the air around you doesn’t have enough water vapor in it to cause moisture to form on the outside of a cold cup, here’s another way to see how condensation happens. 

What you'll need: 

  • 2 wide clear plastic cups
  • 2 tall clear plastic cups
  • hot tap water
  • piece of ice

Be sure to review the safety instructions on page 1 before proceeding.

  • Fill two wide cups about 2/3 full of hot tap water.
  • Quickly place a tall clear plastic cup over each of the cups.
  • Place a piece of ice on the top of one of the cups and wait about 2-3 minutes.

Upside down tall cups on short cups with hot water. Ice cube on one tall cup.

  • After the ice has been on the cup for 2-3 minutes, remove it and use a paper towel to dry off the water from the melted ice.
  • Look closely at the top of each cup. Use a magnifier if you have one. What do you notice?

Looking at tops of cups with magnifying glass

The inside top surface of the cup with the ice should have more and bigger water drops on it than the top inside surface of the cup without the ice.

The inside of each cup should have a lot of water vapor in it from the evaporating hot water. That water vapor will condense into liquid water when it touches the cooler surface of the upper cup. But it will condense even faster if the surface is even colder because of the ice.  

Think about this …

Water evaporates all the time from oceans, lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water. What do you think happens when the water vapor gets high into the sky and meets colder air? 

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experiment of water vapour

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1. Form the water vapor

2. form smoke particles, 4. watch the cloud appear, 5. make it disappear, 6. the real deal.

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Make a Cloud in a Bottle

Have you ever wondered how clouds form? In this activity, you can make your own cloud to see for yourself!

Clouds form from the condensation or freezing of water vapor. Condensation is the process of a gas changing into a liquid. In this activity, the gas is water vapor and the liquid is the cloud you create. When water vapor cools, it turns into a liquid – or condenses – onto a surface.

For example, take a cold water bottle outside on a warm day. You will notice that water droplets form on the outside of the bottle. These droplets are water vapor from the atmosphere condensing on the surface of the bottle. They do this because the surrounding air cools when it touches the bottle. Clouds form the same way. Water vapor in the atmosphere cools and condenses on particles in the air, creating a cloud.

Follow the steps below to create your own cloud and see this process in action!

Image of all the materials for this activity

Transparent glass jar

Warm tap water (not boiling)

Metal tray or hard-plastic frozen ice pack

Spoon or stirrer

Warm water being stirred in a glass jar

Education Corner

37 Water Science Experiments: Fun & Easy

Photo of author

We’ve curated a diverse selection of water related science experiments suitable for all ages, covering topics such as density, surface tension, water purification, and much more.

These hands-on, educational activities will not only deepen your understanding of water’s remarkable properties but also ignite a passion for scientific inquiry.

So, grab your lab coat and let’s dive into the fascinating world of water-based science experiments!

Water Science Experiments

1. walking water science experiment.

Walking Water Science Experiment

This experiment is a simple yet fascinating science experiment that involves observing the capillary action of water. Children can learn a lot from this experiment about the characteristics of water and the capillary action phenomenon. It is also a great approach to promote scientific curiosity and enthusiasm.

Learn more: Walking Water Science Experiment

2. Water Filtration Experiment

Water Filtration Experiment

A water filtering experiment explains how to purify contaminated water using economical supplies. The experiment’s goal is to educate people about the procedure of water filtration, which is crucial in clearing water of impurities and contaminants so that it is safe to drink.

Learn more: Water Filtration Experiment

3. Water Cycle in a Bag

The water cycle in a bag experiment became to be an enjoyable and useful instructional exercise that helps students understand this idea. Participants in the experiment can observe the many water cycle processes by building a model of the water cycle within a Ziplock bag.

4. Cloud in a Jar

Cloud in a Jar

The rain cloud in a jar experiment is a popular instructional project that explains the water cycle and precipitation creation. This experiment is best done as a water experiment since it includes monitoring and understanding how water changes state from a gas (water vapor) to a liquid (rain) and back to a gas.

Learn more: Cloud in a Jar

5. The Rising Water

The rising water using a candle experiment is a wonderful way to teach both adults and children the fundamentals of physics while also giving them an exciting look at the properties of gases and how they interact with liquids.

6. Leak Proof Bag Science Experiment

Leak Proof Bag Science Experiment

In the experiment, a plastic bag will be filled with water, and after that, pencils will be inserted through the bag without causing it to leak.

The experiments explain how the plastic bag’s polymer chains stretch and form a barrier that keeps water from dripping through the holes the pencils have produced.

Learn more: Leak Proof Bag Science Experiment

7. Keep Paper Dry Under Water Science Experiment

Keep Paper Dry Under Water Science Experiment

The experiment is an enjoyable way for demonstrating air pressure and surface tension for both adults and children. It’s an entertaining and engaging technique to increase scientific curiosity and learn about scientific fundamentals.

Learn more: Keep Paper Dry Under Water Science Experiment

8. Frozen Water Science Experiment

The Frozen Water Science Experiment is a fun and engaging project that teaches about the qualities of water and how it behaves when frozen.

You can gain a better knowledge of the science behind the freezing process and investigate how different variables can affect the outcome by carrying out this experiment.

9. Make Ice Stalagmites

10. Bending of Light

A fascinating scientific activity that explores visual principles and how light behaves in different surfaces is the “bending of light” water experiment. This experiment has applications in physics, engineering, and technology in addition to being a fun and interesting method to learn about the characteristics of light.

11. Salt on a Stick

Salt on a Stick

This experiment is an excellent way to catch interest, engage in practical learning, and gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics of water and how they relate to other substances. So the “Salt on Stick” water experiment is definitely worth trying if you’re looking for a fun and educational activity to try!

Learn More: Water Cycle Experiment Salt and Stick

12. Separating Mixture by Evaporation

This method has practical applications in fields like water processing and is employed in a wide range of scientific disciplines, from chemistry to environmental science.

You will better understand the principles determining the behavior of mixtures and the scientific procedures used to separate them by performing this experiment at home.

13. Dancing Spaghetti

Have you ever heard of the dancing spaghetti experiment? It’s a fascinating science experiment that combines simple materials to create a mesmerizing visual display.

The dancing spaghetti experiment is not only entertaining, but it also helps you understand the scientific concepts of chemical reactions, gas production, and acidity levels.

14. Magic Color Changing Potion

The magic color-changing potion experiment with water, vinegar, and baking soda must be tried since it’s an easy home-based scientific experiment that’s entertaining and educational.

This experiment is an excellent way to teach kids about chemical reactions and the characteristics of acids and bases while providing them an interesting and satisfying activity.

15. Traveling Water Experiment

Traveling Water Experiment

In this experiment, you will use simple objects like straws or strings to make a path for water to pass between two or more containers.

Learn more: Rookie Parenting

16. Dry Erase and Water “Floating Ink” Experiment

Dry Erase and Water “Floating Ink” Experiment

The dry-erase and water “floating ink” experiment offers an interesting look at the characteristics of liquids and the laws of buoyancy while also being a great method to educate kids and adults to the fundamentals of science.

Learn more: Dry Erase and Water Floating Ink Experiment

17. Underwater Candle

In this experiment, we will investigate a connection between fire and water and learn about the remarkable factors of an underwater candle.

18. Static Electricity and Water

19. Tornado in a Glass

Tornado in a Glass

This captivating experiment will demonstrate how the forces of air and water can combine to create a miniature vortex, resembling a tornado.

Learn more: Tornado in a Glass

20. Make Underwater Magic Sand

Be ready to build a captivating underwater world with the magic sand experiment. This experiment will examine the fascinating characteristics of hydrophobic sand, sometimes referred to as magic sand.

21. Candy Science Experiment

Get ready to taste the rainbow and learn about the science behind it with the Skittles and water experiment! In this fun and colorful experiment, we will explore the concept of solubility and observe how it affects the diffusion of color.

Density Experiments

Density experiments are a useful and instructive approach to learn about the characteristics of matter and the fundamentals of science, and they can serve as a starting point for further exploration into the fascinating world of science.

Density experiments may be carried out with simple materials that can be found in most homes.

This experiment can be a great hands-on learning experience for kids and science lovers of all ages.

22. Super Cool Lava Lamp Experiment

Super Cool Lava Lamp Experiment

The awesome lava lamp experiment is an entertaining and educational activity that illustrates the concepts of density and chemical reactions. With the help of common household items, this experiment involves making a handmade lava lamp.

Learn more: Lava Lamp Science Experiment

23. Denser Than you Think

Welcome to the fascinating world of density science! The amount of matter in a particular space or volume is known as density, and it is a fundamental concept in science that can be seen everywhere around us.

Understanding density can help us figure out why some objects float while others sink in water, or why certain compounds do not mix.

24. Egg Salt and Water

Learn about the characteristics of water, including its density and buoyancy, and how the addition of salt affects these characteristics through performing this experiment.

25. Hot Water and Cold-Water Density

In this experiment, hot and cold water are put into a container to see how they react to one other’s temperatures and how they interact.

Sound and Water Experiments

Have you ever wondered how sound travels through different mediums? Take a look at these interesting sound and water experiments and learn how sounds and water can affect each other.

26. Home Made Water Xylophone

Home Made Water Xylophone

You can do this simple scientific experiment at home using a few inexpensive ingredients to create a handmade water xylophone.

The experiment demonstrates the science of sound and vibration and demonstrates how changing water concentrations can result in a range of tones and pitches.

Learn more: Home Made Water Xylophone

27. Create Water Forms Using Sound!

A remarkable experiment that exhibits the ability of sound waves to influence and impact the physical world around us is the creation of water formations using sound.

In this experiment, sound waves are used to generate patterns and shapes, resulting in amazing, intricate designs that are fascinating to observe.

28. Sound Makes Water Come Alive 

These experiments consist of using sound waves to create water vibrations, which can result in a variety of dynamic and captivating phenomena.

29. Water Whistle

The water whistle experiment includes blowing air through a straw that is submerged in water to produce a whistle.

This experiment is an excellent way to learn about the characteristics of sound waves and how water can affect them.

Water Surface Tension Experiments

You can observe the effects of surface tension on the behavior of liquids by conducting a surface tension experiment.

By trying these experiments, you can gain a better understanding of the properties of liquids and their behavior and how surface tension affects their behavior.

30. Floating Paperclip

In this experiment, you will put a paper clip on the top of the water and observe it float because of the water’s surface tension.

31. Water Glass Surface Tension

Have you ever noticed how, on some surfaces, water drops may form perfect spheres? The surface tension, which is a characteristic of water and the cohesive force that holds a liquid’s molecules together at its surface, is to blame for this.

32. Camphor Powered Boat

The camphor-powered boat experiment is a fun and fascinating way to explore the principles of chemistry, physics, and fluid mechanics. In this experiment, a miniature boat is used to travel across the water’s surface using camphor tablets.

33. Pepper and Soap Experiment

Pepper and Soap Experiment

The pepper in a cloud experiment is a simple and interesting activity that explains the concept of surface tension. This experiment includes adding pepper to a bowl of water and then pouring soap to the mixture, causing the pepper to move away from the soap.

Learn more: Pepper and Soap Experiment

Boiling Water Experiments

Experiments with boiling water are an engaging and informative way to learn about physics, chemistry, and water’s characteristics.

These investigations, which include examining how water behaves when it changes temperature and pressure, can shed light on a variety of scientific phenomena.

It’s important to take the proper safety measures when performing experiments with hot water. Boiling water can produce steam and hot particles that are dangerous to inhale in and can result in severe burns if it comes into contact with skin.

34. Make It Rain

Make It Rain

This experiment can be accomplished using basic supplies that can be found in most homes, make it an excellent opportunity for hands-on learning for both kids and science lovers.

Learn more: Make it Rain

35. Fire Water Balloons

Learning about the fundamentals of thermodynamics, the behavior of gases, and the effects of heat on objects are all made possible by this experiment.

36. Boil Water with Ice

The Boiling Water with Ice experiment is an engaging and beneficial approach to learn about temperature and the behavior of water. It can also serve as an introduction for further discovery into the wonderful world of science.

37. Boil Water in a Paper Cup

The “boil water in a cup” experiment is an easier but powerful approach to illustrate the idea of heat transmission by conduction. This experiment is often used in science classes to teach students about thermal conductivity and the physics of heat transfer.

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Cloud in a Bottle Demonstration

Use Water Vapor to Form a Cloud

  • Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
  • B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College

Here's a quick and easy science project you can do: make a cloud inside a bottle. Clouds form when water vapor forms tiny visible droplets. This results from cooling the vapor. It helps to provide particles around which the water can liquefy. In this project, we'll use smoke to help form a cloud.

Cloud in a Bottle Materials

You only need a few basic materials for this science project:

  • 1-liter bottle

Let's Make Clouds

  • Pour just enough warm water in the bottle to cover the bottom of the container.
  • Light the match and place the match head inside the bottle.
  • Allow the bottle to fill with smoke.
  • Cap the bottle.
  • Squeeze the bottle really hard a few times. When you release the bottle, you should see the cloud form. It may disappear between "squeezes."

The Other Way to Do It

You can also apply the ideal gas law  to make a cloud in a bottle: PV = nRT, where P is pressure, V is volume, n is number of moles , R is a constant, and T is temperature.

If the amount of gas (as in a closed container) isn't changed, then if you raise the pressure, the only way for the temperature of the gas to be unchanged is by decreasing the container volume proportionally. If you're not sure you can squeeze the bottle hard enough to achieve this (or that it would bounce back) and want a really dense cloud, you can do the not-as-child-friendly version of this demonstration (still pretty safe). Pour hot water from a coffeemaker into the bottom of the bottle. Instant cloud! (... and a slight melting of the plastic) If you can't find any matches, light a strip of cardboard on fire, insert it into the bottle, and let the bottle get nice and smoky.

How Clouds Form

Molecules of water vapor will bounce around like molecules of other gases unless you give them a reason to stick together. Cooling the vapor slows the molecules down, so they have less kinetic energy and more time to interact with each other. How do you cool the vapor? When you squeeze the bottle, you compress the gas and increase its temperature. Releasing the container lets the gas expand, which causes its temperature to go down. Real clouds form as warm air rises. As air gets higher, its pressure is reduced. The air expands, which causes it to cool. As it cools below the dew point, water vapor forms the droplets we see as clouds. Smoke acts the same in the atmosphere as it does in the bottle. Other nucleation particles include dust, pollution, dirt, and even bacteria.

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Collection of Physics Experiments

Water vapour condensation, experiment number : 1768, goal of experiment.

Our goal is to visualize a temperature increase caused by condensation of water vapour.

The described experiment can to be considered complementary to the experiment Evaporation of Water and Ethanol (with Thermal Imaging Camera) . Explanation of this experiment is that the evaporating liquid takes out latent heat of vaporization L v from its surroundings, and thus the vapour has higher energy than the liquid of the same temperature. Logical reasoning leads us to the conclusion that the condensation (liquefaction) of gas gives off “excessive” energy as heat to become liquid. This heat is called the latent heat of condensation L c of the gas and its size equals to the latent heat of vaporization L v of liquid of the same temperature.

In our experiment, we show a local temperature increase above the water level in a cup; the water vapour condensates on a paper covering the cup.

Thermal imaging camera, cup with water at a temperature slightly lower than the ambient temperature (e.g. 2 °C), sheet of paper.

Fill a cup with water and cover the cup with a sheet of paper. Observe the temperature change of the paper by the thermal imaging camera.

Sample result

The experiment is illustrated by the video below. At the place where the paper covers the water surface, we can see a temperature increase of about 1 °C. This increase is temporary, after a while the sheet of paper comes to thermal equilibrium with the surroundings.

In this experiment, the thermal imaging camera FLIR i7 was used. The temperature range of colour scheme was chosen in the interval from 19 °C to 25 °C, the emissivity was ε = 0.95.

Technical notes

It is important to set the range of the thermal imaging camera so that the temperature difference between maximum and minimum tepmerature is the smallest possible – we need to be able to detect really small changes in temperature in order of about 1 °C.

Pedagogical notes

It is ideal to perform this experiment with water of temperature a few degrees lower than the temperature of the surroundings. For this purpose it is useful to use cold tap water; its typical temperature is 20 °C (of course it is recommended to try it before conducting the experiment). With cold water the experiment is quite demonstrative – although the water itself is colder than the surroundings, the paper is heated to a temperature greater that the temperature of the surroundings thanks to the latent heat of condensation.

If you choose to experiment with water of higher temperature (same as the temperature of the surroundings or higher), students can explain the temperature increase of the paper by heat exchange between the water and the paper. On the other hand, if you choose water that is too cold (five or more degrees lower that the temperature of the surroundings), the effect can be supressed and the experiment is unconvincing.

Inspiration

This experiment was inspired by a similar experiment on web page Infrared Tube that is dedicated to experiments with thermal imaging camera.

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Recovering water from a solution using a condenser

In association with Nuffield Foundation

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Use this demonstration to show how pure water can be recovered from copper sulfate solution using a condenser

When copper sulfate solution is boiled, pure water vapour is produced. In this experiment, students observe how this may be captured using a water-cooled condenser, producing liquid water with a boiling point of 100°C.

This demonstration should take about 15 minutes (not including assembling the apparatus), and follows on from another simple experiment which students can try for themselves, using simple distillation to recover water from copper(II) sulfate solution .

  • Distillation flask, at least 100 cm 3  capacity
  • Water-cooled (Liebig) condenser and connection tubing to tap and sink
  • Corks or bungs to assemble apparatus (or use Quickfit apparatus)
  • Thermometer, –10 °C to +110 °C
  • Stand, boss and clamp, x2
  • Bunsen burner
  • Tripod and gauze
  • Heat resistant mat
  • Beaker, 100 cm 3
  • Anti-bumping granules (or pumice stone, or pieces of broken porcelain)
  • Copper(II) sulfate(VI) solution, 1 M (HARMFUL, DANGEROUS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT), 30 cm 3

Health, safety and technical notes

  • Read our standard health and safety guidance.
  • Wear eye protection throughout.
  • Copper(II) sulfate(VI) solution, CuSO 4 (aq), (HARMFUL at this concentration) – see CLEAPSS Hazcard HC027c  and CLEAPSS Recipe Book RB031. Copper(II) sulfate(VI) is DANGEROUS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT – recycle the copper sulfate after the demonstration by mixing it with the water that has collected in the beaker.
  • Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram, with about 30 cm 3  copper(II) sulfate(VI) solution (and a few anti-bumping granules) in the flask.
  • Turn on the cooling water. Only a slow flow through the apparatus is needed.
  • Heat the copper sulfate solution until it boils, then adjust the flame to keep it boiling gently.
  • Read the thermometer as water begins to condense on it and then as the vapour moves down into the condenser.
  • Use a beaker to collect the water that runs out of the condenser.

A diagram illustrating a heat source and a round-bottomed flask connected to a water-cooled condenser and beaker

Source: Royal Society of Chemistry

How to boil copper sulfate solution to produce pure water vapour, which can then be condensed and collected

Teaching notes

As in the student experiment based on distilling water from copper sulfate solution , an important point is that the blue solution boils to give the colourless solvent (water). In this experiment, the boiling point of the solvent can be measured and should be steady and close to 100 °C (depending on the accuracy of the thermometer, and the pressure). This is by far the best test for pure water. The use of cobalt(II) chloride paper or anhydrous copper(II) sulfate only indicates the presence of water.

Evaporation occurs at any temperature. Boiling occurs when the vapour pressure of the liquid equals the pressure of the atmosphere. At this temperature, small bubbles (which contain water vapour, not air) are formed in the liquid and rise to the surface. Anti-bumping granules help these bubbles to form. If the granules are not there, the liquid may ‘bump’, ie boil violently.

Point out to the students the mode of action of the water condenser. If water enters at the bottom and comes out at the top, only a slow flow through the condenser is needed.

Additional information

This is a resource from the  Practical Chemistry project , developed by the Nuffield Foundation and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Practical Chemistry activities accompany  Practical Physics  and  Practical Biology .

© Nuffield Foundation and the Royal Society of Chemistry

  • 11-14 years
  • Demonstrations
  • Compounds and mixtures

Specification

  • Water that is safe to drink is called potable water. Potable water is not pure water in the chemical sense because it contains dissolved substances.
  • Describe the differences in treatment of ground water and salty .
  • Give reasons for the steps used to produce potable water.
  • RP11 Analysis and purification of water samples from different sources, including pH, dissolved solids and distillation.
  • 2.12 Describe how: waste and ground water can be made potable, including the need for sedimentation, filtration and chlorination; sea water can be made potable by using distillation; water used in analysis must not contain any dissolved salts
  • C1.4.1 describe the principal methods for increasing the availability of potable water, in terms of the separation techniques used, including the ease of treating waste, ground and salt water including filtration and membrane filtration; aeration, use of…
  • C6.2g describe the principal methods for increasing the availability of potable water in terms of the separation techniques used
  • C6.3g describe the principal methods for increasing the availability of potable water in terms of the separation techniques used
  • 2. Develop and use models to describe the nature of matter; demonstrate how they provide a simple way to to account for the conservation of mass, changes of state, physical change, chemical change, mixtures, and their separation.
  • 4. Classify substances as elements, compounds, mixtures, metals, non-metals, solids, liquids, gases and solutions.

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Vernier

Shop Experiment Vapor Pressure of Liquids Experiments​

Vapor pressure of liquids.

Experiment #10 from Chemistry with Vernier

experiment of water vapour

Introduction

In this experiment, you will investigate the relationship between the vapor pressure of a liquid and its temperature. When a liquid is added to the Erlenmeyer flask, it will evaporate into the air above it in the flask. Eventually, equilibrium is reached between the rate of evaporation and the rate of condensation. At this point, the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the partial pressure of its vapor in the flask. Pressure and temperature data will be collected using a Gas Pressure Sensor and a Temperature Probe. The flask will be placed in water baths of different temperatures to determine the effect of temperature on vapor pressure. You will also compare the vapor pressure of two different liquids, ethanol and methanol, at the same temperature.

In this experiment, you will

  • Investigate the relationship between the vapor pressure of a liquid and its temperature.
  • Compare the vapor pressure of two different liquids at the same temperature.

Sensors and Equipment

This experiment features the following sensors and equipment. Additional equipment may be required.

experiment of water vapour

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This experiment is #10 of Chemistry with Vernier . The experiment in the book includes student instructions as well as instructor information for set up, helpful hints, and sample graphs and data.

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Hands On As We Grow®

Hands on kids activities for hands on moms. Focusing on kids activities perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Science Experiment : Ice, Water, Vapor

Learning Preschoolers Experiment Kitchen Water Activities 10 Comments

Henry woke up asking to do an experiment!

When I asked what kind of experiment he’d like to do, he replied, Ice!

Probably thinking of our sand and salt experiment on ice that we did for the 30 Days to Hands on Play Challenge  (for Day 22, Investigate ).

I didn’t have anything prepared yet, but ice cubes. So after asking some fans on Facebook ( check here to see their suggestions for ice experiments ).

ice learning experiment, ice to water to vapor

I came up with a simple, yet fun, interactive science experiment with ice.

Watching and causing the changes ofthe phases of water as an ice cube melts and turns into water. It then comes to a boil and vaporizes into thin air, disappearing completely.

This is how we did it. I set up three ice stations. Two pots and one bowl.

Henry added six ice cubes to each ice station (great counting practice for him).

In one of the pots, as well as the bowl, I added a handful of salt to the ice cubes (hoping this would be a salt vs non-salt experiment).

I then added low heat to the two pots on the stove. Henry’s been loving the chance to get to work at the stove (and I’m getting braver to letting him do so).

preschool science experiment, phases of water

I gave Henry a spoon to stir the ice cubes, just as something for him to do.

We watched and compared each of the ice stations. We watched to see which pot or bowlmelted the fastest.

(The bowl quickly became ignored as nothing was happening in it since there was no heat!)

The pots were a happening experiment though! The ice cubes quickly melted and turned into water. Then once the water heated, it started bubbling, beginning to boil. Even then, it didn’t stop! The water quickly turned into vapor, leaving an empty bowl.

preschool activity, science experiment

Our salt versus non-salt experiment kind of flopped. I had put the salt in the smaller pot. This pot took longer to melt and vaporize because the water was then deeper. So I didn’t emphasize the salt factor too much. Henry had also started putting ice cubes in the other pot first, too, which might have made a difference.

But we did notice one thing.

The salt left a residue on the pan! We noticed it first when the water began to boil.

preschool science, ice to water to vapor

And by the time the water completely vaporized, the difference was transparent! The salt pot was thick with a salty residue left in the pan!

preschool science, the phases of water

Henry thought it would be necessary to get rid of the salt. So, instead of ‘cleaning’ the pot, we ‘dissolved’ the salt in water.

preschool science, salt and non-salt water phases experiment

Add a little learning to our playtime! This is a learning post to celebrate with the lesson plan mom, Jill’s, first anniversary for her blog: A Mom with a Lesson Plan ! She has brilliant learning activities that are geared towards the mom without a lesson plan. She’s got the ideas and simple ways that anyone can do it with their kids. Simple ideas, should I say, to add a little learning to our playtime!

Here are some more ideas that others are doing to add a little learning to our playtime, as well as celebrating  A Mom with a Lesson Plan ‘s Blogaversary!

About Jamie Reimer

Jamie learned to be a hands on mom by creating activities, crafts and art projects for her three boys to do. Jamie needed the creative outlet that activities provided to get through the early years of parenting with a smile! Follow Jamie on Pinterest and Instagram !

More Hands on Kids Activities to Try

experiment of water vapour

Reader Interactions

10 comments.

Emma @sciencesparks says

December 6, 2011 at 10:26 pm

What a great idea. My children would love that!

Thanks so much for linking to Science Sparks x

Home School Coach says

December 2, 2011 at 2:39 pm

This was great. I love that little guys want to learn all about things in the world and I love it when I see mom's and dad's who are up to the challenge. : )

rachelle | tinkerlab says

November 30, 2011 at 5:08 am

I love this post, Jamie. We're all about experiments in my house, and I get this sort of request OFTEN! It's funny to read about how you were scrambling to meet Henry's request. Just today my daughter and I were sewing and she asked me if we could make her a dress! Um, yeah, that would take about 3 hours and fabric that we didn't have. But we came up with a skirt compromise based on what was available and she was thrilled (and entertained for the whole afternoon).

Andrea says

November 30, 2011 at 4:37 am

Great idea! I love the simplicity of it!

Andrea @ myhomeschooltale.blogspot.com

Jill @ A Mom With A Lesson Plan says

November 29, 2011 at 1:54 pm

What a perfect activity! I can't wait to give it a try. Thanks for joining up, and ALL of the support you have given me over this year.

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SAGE (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment)

Studying Earth’s Stratospheric Water Vapor

Home » Blog » Studying Earth’s Stratospheric Water Vapor

What does water vapor have in common with Sisyphus, the mythological Greek character cursed to roll a rock uphill only to have it roll back down again? Water is continuously cycling on Earth between bodies of water such as oceans, lakes and rivers, land surfaces, and in the atmosphere. When water warms and evaporates from the Earth’s surface it becomes gaseous in the form of water vapor, H 2 O. As water vapor rises into the atmosphere, it cools and can condense into clouds which can produce rain or snow bringing water back to the Earth’s surface. And the cycle begins again.

Water vapor is also an important component in Earth’s evolving climate system. As a major greenhouse gas – a gas that traps heat – water vapor absorbs heat produced by Earth’s surface and the shining Sun. The water molecules then emit that heat back to Earth’s surface which can increase the temperature. This relationship between an increase in water vapor in the atmosphere contributing to warming temperatures, and warmer temperatures causing an increase in water vapor is called a positive feedback loop.

Although water vapor in the stratosphere is only a few molecules per million air molecules, this positive feedback relationship between water vapor and temperature is important as scientists study to better understand how much this impacts Earth’s changing climate.

In addition to measuring stratospheric ozone and aerosols, the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III instrument on the International Space Station (ISS) measures trace gases including water vapor. Unlike many other science data instruments, SAGE III provides a very precise and highly accurate measurement of water vapor in the upper troposphere and throughout the stratosphere.

Other satellite-based instruments, such as the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on NASA’s Aura and the High-Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO), measure atmospheric water vapor in the upper troposphere and stratosphere. SAGE III uses the solar occultation technique, which is unique, in that it can take more precise measurements covering vertical layers of atmosphere.

“Because SAGE III provides such a high accuracy data set, we can look at different levels of the atmosphere in more detail than ever before. We can see every kilometer in the vertical profiles of data,” said Mijeong Park, Project Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO.

In partnership with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the SAGE III team at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia released initial analyses of the SAGE III water vapor data version 5.1 in the paper “Near-Global Variability of Stratospheric Water Vapor Observed by SAGE III/ISS.”

Throughout the paper, the SAGE III version 5.1 water vapor data are validated against MLS version 5 retrievals and show overall first-rate agreement between the two data sets. The relatively young SAGE III/ISS dataset is recording water vapor seasonal variability that agrees well with MLS from the tropopause through the middle stratosphere (∼16–30 km).

By looking at SAGE III data between 2017 and 2020, scientists were given some insight into the year-to-year variability of H 2 O during boreal summer monsoon season. A monsoon is a seasonal change in wind and rain patterns observed in certain parts of the world, including North America.

“By looking at multiple years of data, we can understand how much water vapor is going into the stratosphere through the summer monsoon circulation each year,” said Park.

experiment of water vapour

In the figure above, SAGE III (a and c) is compared to MLS (b and d) for August 2017 (top) and January 2018 (bottom). In August of 2017, SAGE III H2O showed that water vapor over the North American monsoon region was relatively higher than over the Asian monsoon region. While the SAGE III instrument takes about one month to cover the latitude range ∼60N–60S, scientists have found that this monthly sampling captures more localized values of water vapor in the lower stratosphere.

Although the summer monsoon season varies year by year, SAGE’s ability to detect the interannual variability of stratospheric water vapor during monsoon season helps scientists better understand how changes in water vapor are contributing to Earth’s climate.

Scientists are also able to study relative humidity (RH) with SAGE III’s water vapor data. Relative humidity tells us how much water vapor is in the air, relative to how much water vapor the air could hold at a given temperature. As air temperatures rise, warmer air can hold more water vapor increasing the saturation point. Cold air can hold less water vapor.

The RH-temperature relationships captured by SAGE III agree with the near-tropopause data derived from high-resolution Upper Troposphere/Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) aircraft measurements, which enhances the science community’s confidence in the quality of the SAGE III data set.

“The SAGE III data can be used for more detailed studies of relative humidity distribution and its variability because of the accuracy. It will also help scientists to better simulate our climate using global climate models,” said Park.

While SAGE III will continue to measure water vapor from ISS over the coming years, a longer record of water vapor data is needed.

“It is very important to have a continuous measurement of water vapor anywhere on Earth. There are many ways to measure water vapor, by satellite, like SAGE, by airplane, or by ground-based instruments. There is only one continuous water vapor record of 30-plus years from balloon measurements in Boulder, Colorado. Satellite missions have limited lifetimes. We need continuous measurements of water vapor to really understand how water vapor affects our climate,” said Park.

EXPERIMENT 11: VAPOUR PRESSURE

Introduction.

Some molecules of a liquid can escape from the liquid surface (evaporate) because of their kinetic energy.  If these molecules, now in the vapour phase, are collected in a closed container, they will exert a pressure that is known as the vapour pressure, P * , of the liquid, as indicated in Figure 1.

Figure 1 : The microscopic process of evaporation and condensation at the liquid surface, by HellTchi , licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

As the temperature increases so does the kinetic energy of molecules.  Then more molecules escape the liquid phase (evaporate) and the number of molecules above the liquid increases, yielding a higher vapour pressure.  Consequently, the vapour pressure of a liquid depends heavily on temperature.  The higher the temperature, the higher the vapour pressure.  The relationship is not linear, though, but follows the expression

\begin{equation*} \log_{10} P^\star = A + \frac{B}{T} \end{equation*}

where T is the absolute temperature, and A , B are constants for any given liquid.

When the temperature is such that the vapour pressure of a liquid reaches the outside pressure (which is often atmospheric pressure), the liquid will start boiling.  When boiling happens, if additional energy is supplied, the temperature and pressure will remain constant until all the liquid evaporates, unless the system is in a closed container.  In a closed container, the generated vapours will increase the pressure and the liquid will stop boiling (because the container pressure will be higher than the vapour pressure), unless its temperature also increases.

To measure the vapour pressure of a liquid we exploit this principle that the liquid boils when its temperature is such that the vapour pressure is equal to the system pressure.  We set the pressure of the system and slowly heat-up the  liquid until it starts boiling.  If the process happens slow-enough, as it should be, it is difficult to visually assess when boiling happens (there will be no vigorous bubbling).  Therefore, we rely on temperature to assess boiling: boiling happens when the temperature of the liquid stays constant while being heated because all the added energy is used for phase change.

If we use this technique to calculate the vapour pressure at a few temperature levels, we can then employ equation (1) to calculate the vapour pressure at any temperature.  The easiest way to do this is by plotting log 10 P versus 1/T which yields a straight line with intercept A and slope B.

The apparatus used in the E030 lab is a simple one consisting of parts that can be found in any chemistry lab.  The main parts of the apparatus are shown in Figure 2.  Essentially, a small flask is placed under low (vacuum) pressure using the lab’s vacuum line.  Methanol is added into this low-pressure space and is heated through a hot-water bath.  The methanol’s temperature is constantly monitored to assess when the methanol boils under the system’s pressure, which, as mentioned above, provides the boiling temperature at the system’s pressure or the vapour pressure at this temperature.  This process is continuously repeated at increasing pressures to provide a set of vapour pressures at different temperatures.

Figure 2: Vapour pressure apparatus in E030

The purpose of the experiment is:

  • To understand what vapour pressure is and how it changes with temperature.
  • To understand the relationship between vapour pressure at a given temperature and boiling temperature at a given pressure.
  • To determine the vapour pressure of a pure liquid at various temperatures.

Before proceeding, check your understanding by performing the following drag-and-drop task.

You are given a set of temperatures and vapour pressures for a substance.  The data sets are not ordered; so, you must match the temperature with the vapour pressure.  Recall that the relationship is monotonic: higher temperature leads to higher vapour pressure.

  • Ensure that the stopcock from the funnel is closed.  Place about 10 mL of methanol into the funnel of the vapour pressure apparatus. Set the water bath around the flask and start its stirring but do not heat yet.
  • Connect the apparatus to the vacuum tap and turn on the tap.  Evacuate the entire apparatus until the pressure inside is about 120 mmHg.  *NOTE : Make sure there are no leaks in the apparatus by observing the “vacuum pressure”; it should be constant.
  • Allow a small amount of liquid (enough so that there is visible liquid in the flask) from the funnel to run onto the cotton fibre around the thermometer bulb. Heat the water bath until the temperature is 5 to 10°C above the thermometer reading in the flask.  Heat the water slowly, as you do not want to overshoot the bath temperature.
  • Start recording (1) the temperature of the flask thermometer, (2) the temperature of the bath, and (3) the system pressure every 30 seconds. (three readings every 30 seconds for the duration of the experiment).
  • When the flask thermometer reading remains constant, the liquid on the cotton should be in equilibrium with its vapours at the pressure in the apparatus. This happens because all the energy transfer from the hotter bath to the methanol in the flask is used for evaporating the methanol (i.e. methanol boils at the apparatus pressure), which occurs at constant temperature.  Take a special note of this flask temperature and the corresponding pressure.  This constitutes a pair of vapour pressure at that temperature (or boiling point at that pressure).
  • Increase the pressure into the apparatus by about 50 mmHg. This can happen by tightening the clamp on the hose leading to the vacuum tap.  Increasing the pressure will increase the boiling temperature of methanol.  Then, the temperature of the flask will start increasing as the methanol gets heated by the hotter bath (ensure that the hot bath is always 5-10°C hotter than the flask).   This temperature increase will stop when the boiling point of methanol at the new pressure is reached.  Take a special note of this flask temperature and the corresponding pressure .  This constitutes a new pair of vapour pressure at that temperature (or boiling point at that pressure).
  • Repeat the above procedure several times until atmospheric pressure of approximately 760 mmHg is reached.
  • When the experiment is finished, allow air into the apparatus until the pressure inside and outside are equalized. Disassemble the system and remove the cotton fibre.  Clean and dry the flask and put cold water back into the water bath.
  • Repeat the experiment.

First we will look at the raw data collected during the experiment

  • Provide two Tables, one for each run, with your recordings of time, flask temperature, hot bath temperature, and system pressure.
  • Plot the data of these two Tables.  One graph for each run.  Place time on the x-axis.  The graph must have three sets of data/lines.  The two temperatures must be on one y-axis and pressure on another axis.
  • Plot on one graph the vapour pressure and temperature pairs for each run.  The Table must have two sets of data, one for each run, with temperature on the x-axis.
  • Get a literature value for the “Normal Boiling Point” (NBP) of methanol (clearly state your source) and add it to the graph created in step 4.
  • What is the relationship between vapour pressure and temperature?
  • Are there differences between the two runs?  What are any causes of such differences?
  • How well do your experimental measurements compare to the NBP of methanol? Why are there differences, if any?

\begin{equation*} \log_{10} P^\star = A + \frac{B}{T} \end{equation*}

We want to calculate the parameters A and B in order to be able to predict the vapour pressure of methanol and any temperature. For this task you should use the data collected during both runs .  Combine the vapour pressure – temperature data from both runs into one Table.  If your plot created during step 4 above clearly indicates that the data from one of the two runs is flawed, use data from only one run but clearly state that you are doing this.

  • Tabulate: temperature, vapour pressure (P * ), absolute temperature, log(vapour pressure), inverse of absolute pressure.
  • Create a plot of log(P * ) versus inverse of absolute temperature.
  • Generate a linear trendline through the data.  Get Excel (or any graphing software you are using) to show the trendline equation on the plot.  Clearly state the values of A and B of equation (2) above.
  • State the relationship between log(P * ) and 1/T.
  • Vapour pressure of methanol at 50°C, and at 70°C
  • The boiling temperature of methanol at 0.5 atm, 1 atm, and 1,2 atm
  • Comment on how the boiling point at 1 atm compares with the literature NBP (normal boiling point) of methanol.
  • Calculate the vapour pressure of methanol at 50°C and at 70°C using Antoine’s equation (if covered in class) and compare with your predictions during step 6 above. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/562/2020/05/Video_2.mp4

PROCTECH 2CE3 Lab Manual Copyright © by Kostas Apostolou. All Rights Reserved.

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experiment of water vapour

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics

The spectroscopy of water vapour: experiment, theory and applications.

a Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada E-mail: [email protected]

The recent spectroscopy of water vapour in the ground electronic state is reviewed. Experimental advances from the microwave to the near ultraviolet spectral regions are surveyed. On the theoretical front, new approaches to the calculation of vibration–rotation energy levels are covered. Water spectroscopy finds extensive application in astronomy, atmospheric science and combustion research. An illustrative summary of these applications is presented.

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experiment of water vapour

P. F. Bernath, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. , 2002,  4 , 1501 DOI: 10.1039/B200372D

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Chapter 1: Matter in our Surroundings

  • Matter is Made of Tiny Particles
  • Why Solids, Liquids and Gases Have Different Properties
  • Classification of Matter
  • Brownian Movement
  • States of Matter: Solid, Liquid, Gas and Plasma
  • Evaporation
  • Effects of Relative Humidity and Wind Speed
  • How Does Evaporation Cause Cooling?
  • Effect of Change of Temperature
  • Melting Point
  • What is Vaporization?
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  • Difference between Rigidity and Fluidity of Matter
  • Prove That Liquids have No fixed Shape but have a Fixed Volume
  • Diffusion in Solids, Liquids, and Gases
  • What is the Unit of Temperature?
  • What is the Relationship Between Celsius and Kelvin Scale of Temperature?
  • Liquification of Gases

How to demonstrate the Presence of Water Vapour in Air?

  • What is Plasma and Bose-Einstein Condensate?

Chapter 2: Is Matter Around Us Pure?

  • Solution: Properties of Solution
  • Saturated and Unsaturated Solutions
  • Concentration of a Solution
  • Suspensions
  • How will you distinguish a Colloid from a Solution?
  • Classification of Colloids
  • Tyndall Effect
  • Separation of Mixtures
  • How to separate a Mixture of Two Solids?
  • Separation by a suitable solvent
  • Separation of Mixtures using Sublimation and Magnets
  • How to Separate a Mixture of a Solid and a Liquid?
  • Filtration: Definition, Process, Diagram and Examples
  • Water Purification
  • Centrifugation
  • How to Separate Cream from milk?
  • Difference Between Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Mixture
  • Difference Between Compound and Mixture
  • Factors affecting Solubility
  • Separation by Evaporation
  • Crystallization
  • Chromatography
  • Distillation
  • Separation of Mixtures of Two or More Liquids
  • Fractional Distillation
  • Pure and Impure Substances
  • What is an Element?
  • Metals, Non-Metals and Metalloids
  • Properties of Metals and Non-Metals

Chapter 3: Atoms and Molecules

  • Laws of Chemical Combination
  • Law of Conservation of Mass
  • Verification of the Law of Conservation of Mass in a Chemical Reaction
  • Law of Constant Proportions
  • What is Atom?
  • Atomic Mass
  • How Do Atoms Exist?
  • Cations vs Anions
  • What are Ionic Compounds?
  • What are Monovalent Ions?
  • What are Divalent Ions?
  • Trivalent Ions - Cations and Anions
  • Polyatomic Ions
  • Formulas of Ionic Compounds
  • Chemical Formula of Common Compounds
  • Molecular Mass
  • Mole Concept
  • Problems Based on Mole Concepts
  • Dalton's Atomic Theory
  • Drawbacks of Dalton's Atomic Theory
  • Significance of the Symbol of Elements
  • Difference Between Molecules and Compounds
  • How to Calculate Valency of Radicals?
  • What is the Significance of the Formula of a Substance?
  • Gram Atomic and Gram Molecular Mass

Chapter 4: Structure of the Atom

  • Charged Particles in Matter
  • Thomson's Atomic Model
  • Rutherford Atomic Model
  • Drawbacks of Rutherford's Atomic Model
  • Bohr's Model of an Atom
  • Valence Electrons
  • Mass Number
  • Relation Between Mass Number and Atomic Number
  • Why do all the Isotopes of an Element have similar Chemical Properties?
  • Why Isotopes have different Physical Properties?
  • What is Fractional Atomic Mass?
  • Radioactive Isotopes
  • Discovery of Electrons
  • What is a Proton?
  • Rutherford's Alpha Scattering Experiment
  • Atomic Nucleus
  • How did Neil Bohr explained the Stability of Atom?
  • Electron Configuration
  • Potassium and Calcium - Atomic Structure, Chemical Properties, Uses
  • What is meant by Chemical Combination?
  • Difference between Electrovalency and Covalency

Water vapour is the most potent of the greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. The maximum capacity of water vapour that can be contained in the air depends on the temperature of the air. Warm air can contain more water vapour.

Water continually keeps on cycling through the atmosphere. It evaporates from the surface of the Earth. During this process, it rises in the atmosphere on warm updrafts into the atmosphere. Conversely, it condenses back onto the Earth’s surface into clouds. It is then blown by the wind, thereby reaching the Earth’s surface in the form of rain or snow. The evaporation and condensation water vapour cycle are crucial means of transferring the heat and energy from the surface of the Earth to the atmosphere.

Presence of Water Vapour in air

Water vapour contained in the atmosphere above the temperature of 100 o C is referred to as steam. The liquid phase of water enters the gaseous phase using two primary processes: evaporation and boiling. Both of these are physical changes. Evaporation is the process where the molecules of water get out from the surface of the container into the atmosphere. Boiling is the process involving the transfer of thermal energy to water molecules. Both of these processes involve a phase transition. 

The change of this water vapour back into the liquid state is known as condensation . The chemical properties of water remain the same, in all of these processes primarily, evaporation, boiling and condensation. 

The biological cycle involving the changes in physical states of water is known as the water cycle, depicted below: 

experiment of water vapour

Factors affecting water vapour in the air

  • Water vapour is modified, that is, set by air temperatures.
  • The warmth of the surface affects the evaporation rate of the water from the surface. This leads to an increased concentration of water vapour in the lower atmosphere, which absorbs and emits longwave radiation.

Absolute vs. Relative Humidity: The water vapour contained in the air is called absolute humidity. The water vapour in the air in comparison to the water vapour that the air can hold is called relative humidity. The space in the atmosphere which contains water varies depending on the temperature and pressure.

Experiment to show the Presence of water vapour in the Air Water vapour is contained in the atmosphere, which can be easily depicted using the following experiment : Apparatus – A glass beaker and ice cubes Procedure –  The following procedure can be performed to show the presence of water vapour in air : 1. Take the glass beaker and dry it from outside. 2. Place the ice cubes in the beaker. 3. Leave the ice along with the beaker untouched for some time. Observations – Water droplets collect on the outside of the glass beaker. Take a dry blue cobalt chloride paper. In the presence of water, the paper turns pink in color.

Sample Questions

Question 1: Why do the muggiest days happen at the height of summer heat?

Since the warmer air contains more water vapour in it. Therefore, the muggiest days happen at the height of summer heat. When the temperature decreases, the air can contain less quantity of water vapour. A part of it may turn into liquid water.

Question 2: Water droplets are visible on the grass on a cool summer morning even in the absence of rain. Why?

The water droplets are visible on the grass on a cool summer morning even in the absence of rain most likely came from the water vapours which eventually lead to the formation of water droplets when it cooled to the dew point. At the dew point, water begins to condense out of the air.

Question 3:  Explain the procedure of the creation of water vapour.

The water vapour is produced as a result of the boiling liquid water. This is known as evaporation. It may also be produced from the sublimation of ice. It is removed from the atmosphere by the process of condensation under typical atmospheric conditions.

Question 4:  How does water vapour affect Earth’s warming?

Water vapour is considered to be one of the Earth’s most vital greenhouse gas. It constitutes about 90% of the Earth’s natural greenhouse effect. This in turn enables to keep the Earth very warm to support life. Thus, water vapour is crucial to the weather and climate. 

Question 5. Explain the different ways by which water vapour is put into the atmosphere.

Following are the different ways by which water vapour is put into the atmosphere Evaporation of water contained in oceans, lakes and ponds due to atmospheric heat. Steam production due to factories and thermal power stations. Transpiration of water vapour by plants. Excretion of water vapour through animals.

Question 6. State any characteristic of water vapour. 

Water vapour molecules are basically water droplets in gaseous form. These molecules are lighter than the molecules of nitrogen and oxygen which constitute to approximately 99% of the atmosphere.

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How will you show by experiment that air contains water vapours?

A)take out a bottle of soft drink from the refrigerator and place it on the table. b)observe it for few minutes. c)you will see small drops of water appearing on the outer surface of the bottle. d) this is because water vapour present in the air condenses and forms small drops of water. e) this activity proves that air contains water vapour..

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  • 1 THE WALES MISSION
  • 2. MAIN PAYLOAD CHARACTERISTICS
  • 3 LASER TRANSMITTER ASSEMBLY
  • 5 WAVELENGTH SEPARATOR
  • 6 DETECTION CHAIN
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experiment of water vapour

This active DIAL technique will also provide data on the cloud coverage by means of the signal reflection on the cloud layers.

In DIAL operation, backscatter lidar signals at two wavelengths - at least - are detected. One wavelength (λ ON) is highly absorbed by the species of interest, while the other (λ OFF) is backscattered with minimal absorption. This difference in absorption at the two transmitted wavelengths leads to the determination of the concentration of the species of interest.

The DIAL is therefore a dual-wavelength lidar in which the signals detected at the two wavelengths are processed to extract the absolute density of water vapour.

The Phase A study performed by ALCATEL Space and their partners under contract of the European Space Agency has led to a credible and innovative concept of instrument, based on a mission performance modelling. The challenge is to foster the scientific return while minimising the development risks and costs of instrument development, in particular the laser transmitter.

The paper describes the payload design and the implementation on a low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellite.

WALES is one of ESA Earth Explorer missions: the main objectives are the climatology, the spatial distribution of water vapour, the convergence of the humidity field, the surface fluxes and the energy budget of the Earth/atmosphere system. With respect to these scientific objectives, experimental specifications are considered.

In Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) operation, backscatter lidar signals at two wavelengths -at least-are detected. One wavelength (λ ON) is highly absorbed by the species of interest, while the other (λ OFF) is backscattered with minimal absorption.

In practice, several λ ON wavelengths are used to cover the variation of water vapour concentration. For WALES, three λ ONs and one λ OFF are a good compromise.

This difference in absorption at the two transmitted wavelengths leads to the determination of the concentration of the species of interest. The DIAL is therefore a dual-wavelength lidar in which the signals detected at the two wavelengths are processed to extract the absolute density number of water vapour.

Lidar detection by optical means is performed by a correlation procedure or a related technique. The basic principle relies on the ability to carry out a significant signal supposedly attenuated by the noise background. This signal is thus extracted through a reference filter adapted to the optical frequency of the signal.

Recently, airborne programs have been conducted, aiming at replacing the present lidar sources by solid-state laser sources (alexandrite, titanium-sapphire) for improved performance and operation in preparation of spaceborne missions like WALES.

The primary objective of WALES is to measure the water profile on a climatological base: With an horizontal resolution from ~25 to 200 km following the ground track that is in agreement with the water vapour horizontal scale of variability, which is close to tens of kilometres.

With a vertical resolution from 1 to 1.5 km in the troposphere (planetary boundary layer (PBL) and free troposphere) and in the lower stratosphere respectively.

With an altitude range between the ground level and the lower-stratosphere (~16 km)

The global coverage is required with an air mass sampling for tropical, mid-latitude and polar conditions. The mission analysis leads to the following main parameters of a cost effective mission: a single satellite on a low Earth orbit (LEO, mean altitude 430 km),

heliosynchronous orbit, 6 a.m. local time at descending node (LTDN).

The performance of the WALES instrument must be established accounting for the spatial variability of the water vapour mixing ratio in order to define the optimal characteristics of the lidar system (vertical and horizontal sampling, emitted energy, …).

The mission duration must be longer than one effective year to dispose of the seasonal variability of the water vapour field.

The water vapour profiles retrieved from WALES measurements will be used in synoptic and mesoscale models. They will be helpful to validate the Global Circulation Models (GCMs), but also to improve the knowledge of the Earth/Atmosphere radiative budget if the relative random error stays lower than 20%.

The occurrences of the main cloud covers have also to be considered (cumulus, stratus, cirrus, …) because the error budget has to be established in cloudy conditions. The choice between the different measurement configurations has to be made mainly accounting for: the use of different wavelength pairs in the spectral domain,

the optimum altitude range (between 0 to 16 km) and the air mass types (polar, mid-latitude, tropical),

the signal to noise ratio optimisation over both oceans and continents (both forests and bare soil ecosystems).

A mission performance simulator was built: the parametric analyses lead to the following main characteristics for the Payload of WALES mission, see :

The different functions and the associated subsystems of the DIAL instrument are identified and presented in the following instrument block diagram illustrated by the schematic of :

Light emission: the 4 wavelengths of the transmitted beam are produced by 2 (plus one redundant) laser block units housing the distinct power laser heads and sent to the atmosphere by the Transmitter Optics (TO) composed of Tip-tilt Optics (TTO) and Beam Expander Units (BEU).

Light backscattered by the atmosphere is collected by the Collector Assembly (CA) feeding the Wavelength Separator Assembly (WSA) by means of the Collecting Relay Optics (CRO).

Light separation and filtering is ensured by the Wavelength Separator Assembly (WSA) allowing the 4 wavelengths separation and filtering.

At the output of the WSA, light is conveyed to the detection chain by a Detection Relay Optics (DRO) where light is converted by a Detection Electronic Unit (DEU) with a detector for each wavelength.

The detected signal is then conditioned, digitised and sent to the Instrument Control Unit (ICU, not represented on the schematic).

provides a synthetic view of the instrument configuration :

Instrument configuration synthesis

Lidar configuration4 wavelengths around 936 nm, 3 ON, 1 OFF
Active bistatic, incoherent detection
Transmitter3 ×2 Ti-Sa pumped by Nd:Yag YAG heads (2 nominal + 1 spare)
Frequency stabilisation4 Fabry-Perot filters of WSA, and reference to a water vapour cell
Transmitter opticsBeam expander coupled with tip-tilt mirror
Collecting opticsTri-pupil, optical fibre in primary focus
Wavelength separator4 capacitance stabilised Fabry-Perot filters
Detection chain4 silicon avalanche photodiode (Si-APD) channels, in linear mode
Structure3 laser blocks attached to a dedicated baseplate
Thermal controlConstant Conductance Heat Pipes (CCHP) and Loop Heat Pipes (LHP) to dissipate the transmitter power

The instrument baseplate supports mainly the three power laser heads and the radiator & baffle assembly. The Optical Bench (OB), sustained by a truss composed of three bipods, supports the telescopes and collecting optics.

LASER TRANSMITTER ASSEMBLY

The WALES emitter is composed of four lasers emitting four different wavelengths near 936 nm. The lasers are based on Ti:Sapphire cavities, able to reach the specified wavelengths.

To pump the Ti :Sapphire lasers, other lasers called “ pump lasers ”, emitting at 532 nm, will be used. These lasers are based on doubled Nd:YAG lasers.

In order to reduce the mass and the volume of the WALES transmitter while maintaining an excellent reliability of the payload, each pump laser will pump two Ti :Sapphire lasers. The pump laser emits two pulses separated by 200 μs at 25Hz: using an electrooptical device (Pockels cell with polariser), the two pulses are routed to two different Ti:Sapphire lasers.

The main oscillator is a ring stable resonator, see Fig. 4 .

Schematics of the payload

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_4_1.jpg

Ring stable resonator

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_4_2.jpg

In this configuration the pump beams at 532 nm pass through the cavity dichroic mirrors (R max 935 nm, T max 532 nm).

The dispersive prism at Brewster angle is necessary for mode selection and linewidth. It is made of fused silica optimised for near infrared.

The mirror R 0.8 is chosen as an output coupler and is also used as the input mirror for the seeder signal. The R max 935 mirror will be mounted on PZT for cavity length adjustment.

In order to obtain a stable resonator while all the mirrors of the resonator are plane, a convergent lens is also included in the design.

The second part of the so called Ti :Sapphire cavity is constituted by a double amplifier.

In order to lock the Ti :Sapphire lasers to the required wavelengths in the single longitudinal mode, an injection seeding technique is used and seeders are implemented.

The seeders are based on Extended Cavity Laser Diodes which are tuneable to the required wavelengths and locked by Fabry-Perot filters or water vapour absorption lines.

Each Laser Block Unit (LBU) is composed of one pump laser, two Ti:Sapphire lasers, two associated seeders and a beam combiner i.e. optics able to co-align the two pulses emitted by the same pump laser.

To protect the mission from possible failure of any device of the emitter, a spare LBU is implemented in the emitter. In nominal operation, this redundant unit is switched-off. In case of glitch, the identified LBU is replaced by the redundant LBU.

The block diagram of the emitter is presented on Fig. 5 .

Emitter block diagram

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_4_3.jpg

All blocks (same colour, same size) are identical. The seeders are connected to the WSA as the Fabry-Perot filters used for the locking of the wavelengths are located in this assembly. The green and golden dashed links are optical fibres. The black lines are classical optical paths.

One transmitter optics is used close to the output of each laser head (3) and fixed to the Optical Bench.

- Reduce the jitter of the transmitter beam LOS with respect to the transmitter jitter.

- Adjust by defocus the divergence of the transmitter beam on ground to meet the eye safety regulations.

The tip-tilt optics is a 45° plane mirror used to correct the transmitter beam LOS periodically during geometrical calibration.

For the backscatter, the required 3.5 m 2 collecting area is not given by a mono-pupil telescope in order to minimise the development costs : a multi-pupil configuration is preferred, the collecting optics are 3 identical co-aligned telescopes.

- a primary mirror, diameter 1200 mm, on-axis parabola,

- a field stop placed in the primary focus,

- a lens in afocal layout to optimise the coupling into the multimode fibre, imaging the primary mirror on the fibre entrance.

- Max. misalignment of each telescope w.r.t. Optical Bench reference axis : ≤ 70 μrad (goal 60 μrad).

- Mirror Wavefront Error (WFE) : ≤ λ /3 rms (on axis, excluding defocus, λ=936 nm).

- FOV of each telescope 2θ = 300 μrad.

The collected backscatter signal is transported by fibre optics to the WSA and to the pigtailed detectors (4 channels), see Fig. 9 :

Tip-tilt and transmitter optics on each (3) laser path

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_5_1.jpg

Tri-pupil collecting optics

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_5_3.jpg

Collecting telescope optics

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_5_2.jpg

Optical chain block diagram

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_5_4.jpg

WAVELENGTH SEPARATOR

The Wavelength Separator Assembly (WSA) of the WALES DIAL is aimed at separating the incoming scattered laser radiation into four distinct wavebands, corresponding to the four wavelengths (three on-line, one off-line) of the emitted laser pulses. This is illustrated by the schematic at the top of Fig. 10 .

Wavelength separator

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_6_1.jpg

The WALES wavelength separator concept is shown in block diagram form at the bottom of Fig. 10 .

The design provides with the distribution of radiation from the telescope to four Fabry-Perot filter assemblies (FPF 1-4), each of them consists in a sun filter in tandem with a Capacitance Stabilised Etalon (CSE) whose peak transmission coincides with one of the four specific wavelengths to be detected.

The CSE gap spacing is actively controlled by a driver electronics, named Piezo Driver Unit (PZDU).

The bandwidth of each of the filter assemblies (~20 picometers) is set to be much smaller than the minimum separation between the wavelengths, thus allowing good spectral resolution. The narrow bandwidth achievable with the sun filter also allows good background rejection.

The wavelength dispatching is ensured by the Polarising Subassembly (PSA) consisting in two Polarising Beam Splitter cubes (PBS1 and PBS2), a set of Quarter Wave Plates (W1 - W5) and a Flat Mirror (FM).

The principle of wavelength separation is described hereafter. Radiation from the receiving telescope is carried by a multi-mode fibre optic to a beam expander which provides a collimated beam that is input to the Polarising Subassembly (PSA). The two components of the randomly polarised radiation (p- and s-polarised) are first separated by the action of PBS1. This beam splitter allows transmission of the p-polarised component whilst reflecting the s-polarised component into the first Fabry-Perot Filter (FPF1). Radiation incident on FPF1 is filtered and only that within the transmission waveband is transmitted to the detection system, the rest being reflected.

The quarter wave plate (W1) positioned in front of FPF1 performs the task of rotating the plane of polarisation of the reflected radiation by 90° (since it passes twice through the plate) allowing the light to propagate through PBS1 to the second Fabry-Perot Filter (FPF2).

This process is repeated until all Fabry-Perot Filters are exposed to the incident radiation. Radiation that is initially p- polarised, and therefore transmitted by the two beamsplitters, is reflected by the flat mirror (FM), passing twice through the quarter-wave plate (W5). The resulting rotation of the plane of polarisation produced by the quarter-wave plate allows this component to be distributed to the four Fabry-Perot Filters in the same way as the incident s-polarised component.

DETECTION CHAIN

- four detection channels,

- wavelengths around 936nm,

- pulses for the four channels staggered (100 μs), but the backscattered signals may overlap,

- pulse repetition time (for each wavelength) 25 Hz,

- all acquisition chains working synchronously,

- the acquisition start marked by the laser trigger pulses (distributed to the APD receiver modules),

- acquisition of a series of calibration samples, waiting a selectable time of 2 to 3ms, acquisition of typically 120μs useful signal with two series of samples before and after (typically 100μs TBC),

- electronics powered all the time for stability reasons.

1-1000 photons/μs background,

1-1000 photons/μs useful signal,

4*10 3 photons/μs on cloud return (shall be measured),

7*10 5 photons/15ns single pulse on ground return (may saturate the sensor).

• Quantum efficiency of detector: η ≥ 80% at 940nm.

• Excess noise factor: F 2 ≤ 3.

• Noise equivalent power: NEP ≤ 1.5 fW/√Hz.

• Linearity ≤ 0.1% over ADC dynamic range.

The APD reference design consists of four identical APD Modules (APDM 1 to 4) with the APD front-ends (including the high voltage control), data acquisition systems, sequencer, and housekeeping units (HK). The APDMs are controlled by the interface unit (IFU). The IFU receives commands from the Instrument Control Unit (ICU), decodes them and distributes them to the APDMs. The IFU also collects the measured data and HK data from each APDM, puts them together into frames and sends them to the ICU.

The parameters for the APDMs are programmed by the ICU via the interface. In addition for each module a master sampling clock and a start conversion signal (from ICU and/or laser pulse generator) is provided.

The APDMs are identical (except the calibration voltages) and are fully interchangeable. Also the APD front-ends are identical and interchangeable.

The analogue signal path consists of the APD front-end with an integrated trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) which is connected via symmetrical shielded cable and a multiplexer to the signal conditioning stage (signal span adjusting, offset control, clipping and low pass filter) and the analogue to digital converter.

The included TIA has the advantage to be matched to the APD, short signal lines and therefore higher possible bandwidth because of low parasitic capacitance. The low temperature also decreases thermal noise within the TIA.

The expected signal range leads to a maximum of about 2000 photons/sample (333 ns). To cover this range a 12-bit ADC is necessary and a 14-bit ADC is chosen to give 2 bits reserve and minimise the quantisation noise.

Each APDM samples the data with a rate of 3 MHz (one sample per 333 ns). Each sample consists of a 16-bit word, the 14-bit data word from the ADC and the 2-bit pulse identification. One APD Module generates a total of ~500 data words for each laser pulse, that is to say every 40 ms (pulse repetition frequency of 25 Hz).

The data link to the ICU is a SpaceWire interface operating at 42 Mbit/s, which can easily handle the expected 4*500*16bits/40ms = 800 kbit/s (without the overhead for additional housekeeping data and control commands).

CALIBRATION

• For geometrical calibration, the 3-telescope field of view is scanned by tilting step by step the axis along which the laser beam propagates whilst the ground echo is acquired. At last, the nominal line of sight (LOS) is retrieved from the radiometric plot obtained at completion of the scan and the laser beam is positioned in this direction.

• Spectral calibration takes benefit on the tuneability capacity of Capacitance Stabilised Etalon. The procedure is based on the principle of scanning the Free Spectral Range.

• For radiometric calibration, a fraction of the laser transmitter energy is picked off, and injected into an optical fibre whose output illuminates the entrance of the carrying optical fibre of the telescope. It is a way to guarantee that the calibration flux performs in the same way as the backscatter without any discrepancy. The filter of the wavelength separator can be tuned to attenuate the impinging signal and derive fruitful information about the detection chain itself.

MECH. / THERMAL ARCHITECTURE

The instrument is supported on the satellite platform by means of a spacer structure aiming at providing both an effective stiffening of the instrument baseplate and a free access to the interface attachment points necessary for the mating on the satellite platform.

The instrument baseplate supports mainly three power laser heads and the radiator & baffle assembly. It is made of a CFRP-skinned sandwich panel, a classical technology suitable to stiff and stable structures. The panel height is 100 mm in a conservative approach in order to guarantee a high stiffness.

The spacer structure is composed of a ∅900 mm CFRP tube equipped with two fixation rings made of titanium and four CFRP sandwich plates corresponding to the P/F internal shear walls.

The Optical Bench (OB) is a sandwich plate with CFRP face sheets, simply supported thanks to a truss composed of three bipods.

Each telescope is composed of a wide mirror and a small low-weight focal group. A simple mast supports that small element, providing both sufficient stiffness and stability together with the minimum mass.

The budget of mirror wavefront error is λ/3 rms (for λ=936 nm).

The thermal control of the laser units is demanding because of the large dissipated power (> 700 W). A fully redundant network connects each of the laser units to the global radiative surface. The laser cooling system is represented in Fig. 16 :

Pulse Time Scale

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_6_2.jpg

Pulse form (details)

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_7_1.jpg

APD Functional Overview

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_7_2.jpg

Instrument bottom perspective

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_8_1.jpg

Instrument – Top view showing the 3 telescopes on the optical bench

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_8_2.jpg

Laser cooling concept

00322_PSISDG10568_1056804_page_8_3.jpg

Three loop heat pipes (LHP) distribute the heat collected on the exchanger plate to the radiator CCHPs. The LHP proposed routing along all the radiator CCHPs provides the redundancy necessary to compensate for the failure of any LHP.

MAIN BUDGETS

Volume along X (optical axis)2200 mm
Volume along Y2800 mm
Volume along Z (normal to anti-sun face)2500 mm
Power consumption1490 W
Mass587 kg nominal 673 kg max.
Data rate (science)800 kbits /s (for 4 detection channels)
Radiative required area (total)5.1 m2

DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS

- High energy (75 mJ per wavelength and per pulse).

- High stability.

- High reliability, considering a duty cycle of 100 % and a life time of at least two years.

- High power to be dissipated, because of the poor efficiency of the electrical to optical conversion of the power laser : this leads to a thermal control of the laser heads and Laser Control Electronics designed with a network of LHPs and CCHPs.

Development risks are currently mitigated by technological developments in progress.

- the required high quantum efficiency of the APD for the wavelengths around 936 nm,

- the low noise requirement.

A specific development to reach the high values of quantum efficiency and to implement an integrated TIA in the APD is feasible at low risk.

- duration of phase B : 18 months

- duration of phase C/D : 54 months (4.5 years) The driver is the development of the laser transmitter.

Acknowledgements :

The authors thank greatly their partners in the study contract who contributed significantly to the design of WALES payload: MM Heinz-Volker Heyer and Bernard Voss from Kayser-Threde GmbH, Robert Bond from AEAT Ltd, Paul Wazen from Quantel S.A., Didier Bruneau from CNRS / Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace, Patrick Chazette from CEA / Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, and the WALES team of Alcatel Space.

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Final Filing Date: 8/30/2024

Job Description and Duties

Positions at the Water Boards may be eligible for telework with in-person attendance based on the operational needs of the position.

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Remediation Section I has an opening for a Water Resource Control Engineer in the Site Cleanup Program Unit 5. The position is located at 320 West 4 th Street, Suite 200, Los Angeles, right in the heart of downtown next to Subway’s Pershing Square Station and Grand Central Market.

If the position requires driving, you must possess a current and valid driver’s license. Please Do Not include full Social Security Number, method of eligibility, and LEAP information in your application package.

Salary information – CalHR salary rules allow appointment at the entrance rate (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, § 599.673) of a classification. For classes with alternate ranges, placement is based on education/experience. Please let us know how you heard about this position by taking this brief survey: Recruitment Survey .

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement .

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  • WATER RESOURCE CONTROL ENGINEER

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The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the nine (9) Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCB) (collectively the Water Boards) work to preserve, enhance, and restore the quality of California’s water resources and drinking water for the protection of the environment, public health, and all beneficial uses, and to ensure proper water resource allocation and efficient use, for the benefit of present and future generations.

The Water Boards value diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the organization. We foster an environment where employees from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and personal experiences are welcomed and can thrive. We believe the diversity of our employees is essential to inspiring innovative solutions. Together we further our mission to preserve, enhance, and restore the quality of California’s water resources and drinking water for the protection of the environment, public health, and all beneficial uses, and to ensure proper water resource allocation and efficient use, for the benefit of present and future generations. Join the Water Boards to improve the lives of all Californians.

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Desirable Qualifications

  • Knowledge and experience in conducting investigations and remediation of multiple contaminants in various media including soil, soil gas and groundwater.
  • An understanding of the contaminants fate and transport in the environment and their impacts on the water resources and principles governing the movement of contaminants in groundwater basins.
  • Ability to consistently apply good judgment in evaluating and analyzing soil, soil vapor, and groundwater data and water quality issues.
  • Effective written and verbal communication skills and ability to work well with others.
  • Good computer (Excel, Word, Access, Power Point and ArcGIS, etc.) and writing skills.
  • Knowledge of state and federal regulations related to the protection of water resources, public health, and environment.
  • California Professional Engineer license is desirable but is not required.

Water Board employees may be eligible for benefits. Health benefits and leave programs are available for most permanent, full-time employees, and some permanent, part-time employees. Benefit eligibility may depend on length of service and may be subject to collective bargaining agreements negotiated between the State of California and employee organizations that define wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment. https://www.calhr.ca.gov/Pages/California-State-Civil-Service-Employee-Benefits-Summary.aspx

Contact Information

The Human Resources Contact is available to answer questions regarding the application process. The Hiring Unit Contact is available to answer questions regarding the position.

Please direct requests for Reasonable Accommodations to the interview scheduler at the time the interview is being scheduled. You may direct any additional questions regarding Reasonable Accommodations or Equal Employment Opportunity for this position(s) to the Department's EEO Office.

Statement of Qualifications

A Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) must be submitted along with the State Application and serves as documentation of candidate’s ability to present information clearly and concisely in writing. It should be typed, no more than two (2 ) pages in length, using Arial size 12 pt font , and normal margins .

The SQQ must indicate your experience in investigation and cleanup of subsurface contamination; educational background; experience and/or knowledge of fate and transport of subsurface contamination; experience and/or knowledge of soil, soil vapor and groundwater remediation technologies; experience and/or knowledge of risk assessment of subsurface soil, soil vapor, and groundwater contamination; project management skills in regulatory oversight or compliance with federal and state codes and regulations; verbal communication skills, written communication skills, customer service experience, and organizational skills.

Applications received without the SOQ addressed as stated may not   be considered.

Note: Resumes, letters, and other materials will not be evaluated or considered as a response to the SOQ.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free work place. Any applicant for state employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing Civil Service, and the special trust placed in public servants.

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Northrop grumman s.s. francis r. "dick" scobee, arrival & departure, research highlights, gravitational effects on filtration systems, balloon sounds in space, cell production on station, spaceflight effects on dna, cargo highlights, watch and engage.

NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 11:29 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 3, for the next launch to deliver scientific investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. Filled with more than 8,200 pounds of supplies, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft, carried on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This launch is the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for the agency.

NASA's Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver research and supplies to the International Space Station.

Live launch coverage will begin at 11:10 a.m. and stream on NASA+ , NASA Television, the NASA app , YouTube , and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms.

Learn more at: www.nasa.gov/northropgrumman

NASA selected Richard Scobee as an astronaut in 1978. Scobee flew as a pilot of STS 41-C and was the commander of STS 51-L. The STS 51-L crew, including Scobee, died on January 28, 1986, when space shuttle Challenger exploded after launch.

The Cygnus spacecraft will arrive at the orbiting laboratory on Monday, Aug. 5, filled with supplies, hardware, and critical materials to directly support dozens of scientific and research investigations during Expeditions 71 and 72. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the station’s robotic arm, and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps will act as backup.

After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port and will spend almost six months connected to the orbiting laboratory before departing in January 2025. Cygnus also provides the operational capability to reboost the station’s orbit.

Live coverage of Cygnus’ arrival will begin at 2:30 a.m. Aug. 5 on NASA+ , NASA Television, the NASA app , YouTube , and the agency’s website.

NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps will be on duty during the Cygnus spacecraft’s approach and rendezvous. Dominick will be at the controls of the Canadarm2 robotic arm ready to capture Cygnus as Epps monitors the vehicle’s arrival.

Scientific investigations traveling in the Cygnus spacecraft include tests of water recovery technology and a process to produce blood and immune stem cells in microgravity, studies of the effects of spaceflight on engineered liver tissue and microorganism DNA, and live science demonstrations for students.

The Packed Bed Reactor Experiment: Water Recovery Series evaluates gravity’s effects on eight additional test articles.

The Packed Bed Reactor Experiment: Water Recovery Series investigates how gravity affects two-phase flow or simultaneous movement of gas and liquid through porous media. Teams will evaluate eight different test articles representing components found in the space station’s water processor or urine processor to understand two-phase flows for both liquid and gas in microgravity.

Packed bed reactors are structures that use “packing” of objects, usually pellet-like catalysts, of various shapes and materials to increase contact between different phases of fluids. These systems are used for a variety of applications such as water recovery, thermal management, and fuel cells, and the experiment develops a set of guidelines and tools to optimize their design and operation for water filtration and other systems in microgravity and on the Moon and Mars. Insights from the investigation also could lead to improvements in this technology for applications on Earth such as water purification and heating and cooling systems.

The Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Gen STEM Project, STEMonstrations, that will demonstration the effects centripetal force has on sounds during spaceflight.

STEMonstrations, as part of NASA’s Next Gen STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Project, are performed and recorded by astronauts on the space station. Each NASA STEMonstration illustrates a different scientific concept, such as centripetal force, and includes resources to help teachers further explore the topics with their students.

Astronauts will demonstrate centripetal force on the space station using a penny, a hexnut, and two clear balloons. The penny and the hexnut are whirled inside of the inflated balloon to compare the sounds made in a microgravity environment.

The production of blood and immune stem cells on the space station with the BioServe In-Space Cell Expansion Platform (BICEP).

In-Space Expansion of Hematopoietic Stem Cells for Clinical Application ( InSPA-StemCellEX-H1 ) tests hardware to produce human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in space. HSCs give rise to blood and immune cells and are used in therapies for patients with certain blood diseases, autoimmune disorders, and cancers.

Researchers use BioServe In-Space Cell Expansion Platform, a stem cell expansion bioreactor designed to expand the stem cells three hundredfold without the need to change or add new growth media.

Someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer about every three minutes. Treating patients with transplanted stem cells requires a donor-recipient match and long-term repopulation of transplanted stem cells. This investigation demonstrates whether expanding stem cells in microgravity could generate far more continuously renewing stem cells.

The Rotifer-B2 investigation on the Internation Space Station explores the effects of spaceflight on DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) repair mechanisms.

Rotifer-B2, an ESA (European Space Agency) investigation , explores how spaceflight affects DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) repair mechanisms in a microscopic organisms called bdelloid rotifer, or Adineta vaga . These tiny but complex organisms are known for their ability to withstand harsh conditions, including radiation doses 100 times higher than human cells can survive.

Researchers culture rotifers, microorganisms that inhabit mainly freshwater aquatic environments, in an incubator facility on the space station. After exposure to microgravity conditions, the samples provide insights into how spaceflight affects the rotifer’s ability to repair sections of damaged DNA in a microgravity environment and could improve the general understanding of DNA damage and repair mechanisms for applications on Earth.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station.

NASA’s Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply mission will carry more than 8,500 pounds (3,856 kilograms) of cargo to the International Space Station.

International Space Station Roll Out Solar Array Modification Kit 8 – This upgrade kit consists of power cables and large structural components such as a backbone, mounting brackets, and two sets of struts. This kit will support the installation of the eighth set of roll out solar arrays located on the S6 truss segment of orbiting laboratory in 2025. The new arrays are designed to augment the station’s original solar arrays which have degraded over time. The replacement solar arrays are installed on top of existing arrays to provide a net increase in power with each array generating more than 20 kilowatts of power.

Plant Habitat Environmental Control System – The environmental control system is a component of the Advanced Plant Habitat and controls the temperature, humidity, and air flow in the growth chamber. The habitat is an enclosed, fully automated plant growth facility that will conduct plant bioscience research in orbit for up to 135 days and complete at least one year of continuous operation without maintenance.

Rate Gyro Enclosure Assembly – The Rate Gyro Assembly determines the rate of angular motion of the space station. The assembly is integrated into the enclosure housing on ground to protect the hardware for launch and in-orbit storage. This unit will serve as an in-orbit spare.

European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device & Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System (E4D VIS) Assembly Kit – This assembly kit consists of fasteners, clips, and labels to be used during the in-orbit assembly projected to be completed in mid-2025. ESA and the Danish Aerospace Company developed the E4D to address the challenge of preventing muscle and bone deterioration during long space missions. Some key features of E4D are resistive exercise, cycling ergonomic exercise, rowing, and rope pulling.

X-Y Rotation Axis Launch Configuration – This assembly consists of the X-Y-Rotational and Translational subassemblies in the flight configuration and adds the launch stabilization hardware to protect the various axes of motions for the transport to the space station. Once in orbit, the stabilizing hardware will be discarded, and the remaining assembly will then be installed into the Columbus module location with other subassemblies to provide a base for the E4D exercise device.

Pressure Control and Pump Assembly – This assembly evacuates the Distillation Assembly at startup, periodically purges non-condensable gases and water vapor, and pumps them into the Separator Plumbing Assembly as part of the Urine Processing Assembly. This unit will serve as an in-orbit spare to ensure successful urine processing operation capability without interruption.

Resupply Water Tanks – The resupply water tanks are cylindrical composite fibrewound pressure tanks that provide stored potable water for the space station.

NORS (Nitrogen/Oxygen Recharge System) Maintenance Tank/Recharge Tank Assembly, Nitrogen – The NORS Maintenance Kit is comprised of two separate assemblies: the NORS Recharge Tank Assembly and the NORS Vehicle Interface Assembly. The recharge tank assembly will be pressurized for launch with Nitrogen gas. The vehicle interface assembly will protect the recharge tank assembly for launch and stowage aboard the space station.

Tungsten Plates – A total of 14 tungsten plates will serve as the counter mass of the Vibration Isolation & Stabilization System designed to integrate with the European Enhanced Exercise Device.

Live coverage of the launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station will stream on NASA+ , NASA Television, the NASA app , YouTube , and the agency’s website. Coverage will begin at 11:10 a.m. on Aug. 3.

Live coverage of Cygnus’ arrival at the space station will begin at 2:30 a.m. Aug. 5 on NASA+ , NASA Television, the NASA app , YouTube , and the agency’s website.

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  2. How to demonstrate the Presence of Water Vapour in Air?

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  3. How To Make Water Vapor

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  4. Experiment 3 Enthalpy of Vapourization of Water from Vapour Pressure Measurement

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  5. science chemistry experiment states of matter

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  6. Vapor Pressure of Liquids

    experiment of water vapour

VIDEO

  1. Sudden Temperature Down मोमबत्ती और पानी #science #shorts

  2. CMY 282 Experiment 3

  3. water vapour satisfying

  4. Water vapour satisfying video

  5. TEST OF WATER VAPOUR IN AIR

  6. Water Vapour Condensation

COMMENTS

  1. Steamy Science: Demonstrating Condensation

    Cold surfaces can cause water vapor in the air to cool down, condense and form tiny beads of liquid. ... This is a fun experiment where the physics are more observable, the effect more dramatic ...

  2. Condensation Station

    Here's what to do: Fill two wide cups about 2/3 full of hot tap water. Quickly place a tall clear plastic cup over each of the cups. Place a piece of ice on the top of one of the cups and wait about 2-3 minutes. After the ice has been on the cup for 2-3 minutes, remove it and use a paper towel to dry off the water from the melted ice.

  3. PDF The spectroscopy of water vapour: Experiment, theory and applications

    Water was discovered155 by SWAS in a carbon-rich circumstellar cloud of dust and mole-cules around an old star called IRC +10216. Because water vapour should not be present in such an object, it was specu-lated that the water originated from the vaporization of a cloud of comets surrounding the star.155. 5.

  4. Student Project: Make a Cloud in a Bottle

    Clouds form from the condensation or freezing of water vapor. Condensation is the process of a gas changing into a liquid. In this activity, the gas is water vapor and the liquid is the cloud you create. When water vapor cools, it turns into a liquid - or condenses - onto a surface. For example, take a cold water bottle outside on a warm day.

  5. 37 Water Science Experiments: Fun & Easy

    The rain cloud in a jar experiment is a popular instructional project that explains the water cycle and precipitation creation. This experiment is best done as a water experiment since it includes monitoring and understanding how water changes state from a gas (water vapor) to a liquid (rain) and back to a gas. Learn more: Cloud in a Jar. 5.

  6. How to Make a Cloud in a Bottle

    Let's Make Clouds. Pour just enough warm water in the bottle to cover the bottom of the container. Light the match and place the match head inside the bottle. Allow the bottle to fill with smoke. Cap the bottle. Squeeze the bottle really hard a few times. When you release the bottle, you should see the cloud form.

  7. Water Vapour Condensation

    The described experiment can to be considered complementary to the experiment Evaporation of Water and Ethanol (with Thermal Imaging Camera).Explanation of this experiment is that the evaporating liquid takes out latent heat of vaporization L v from its surroundings, and thus the vapour has higher energy than the liquid of the same temperature. . Logical reasoning leads us to the conclusion ...

  8. Recovering water from a solution using a condenser

    Turn on the cooling water. Only a slow flow through the apparatus is needed. Heat the copper sulfate solution until it boils, then adjust the flame to keep it boiling gently. Read the thermometer as water begins to condense on it and then as the vapour moves down into the condenser. Use a beaker to collect the water that runs out of the ...

  9. PDF Vapor Pressure and Enthalpy of Vaporization of Water

    The purpose of this experiment is to calculate the enthalpy of vaporization of water by finding the vapor pressure of water over a range of temperatures. 2 Procedure In an inverted 10mL graduated cylinder, a sample of air is trapped. The cylinder is submerged in a 1L beaker of water. The distance between the surface of the water in the

  10. PDF VAPOUR PRESSURE OF WATER

    The purpose of this experiment is to study the variation of the vapour pressure of water between about 300K and 373K. The apparatus is shown schematically in the figure. The bulb in which the water vapour is contained has been evacuated of all gases and then filled with mercury and pure water. The pressure of the water vapour causes the mercury ...

  11. Vapor Pressure of Liquids > Experiment 10 from Chemistry with ...

    Introduction. In this experiment, you will investigate the relationship between the vapor pressure of a liquid and its temperature. When a liquid is added to the Erlenmeyer flask, it will evaporate into the air above it in the flask. Eventually, equilibrium is reached between the rate of evaporation and the rate of condensation.

  12. PDF VAPOR PRESSURE OF WATER

    PH2O is the vapor pressure of water. and. is the absolute temperature. is the gas constant, 8.3145 J mol-1 K-1. is a constant that depends on the particular liquid. The vapor pressure is determined at a series of temperatures. ln (PH2O) is plotted against 1/T to give a straight line with a slope equal to - Hvap /R.

  13. PDF Experiment Vapor Pressure of Liquids

    In this experiment, you will. (1) Figure 1. Investigate the relationship between the vapor pressure of a liquid and its temperature. Compare the vapor pressure of two different liquids at the same temperature. Use pressure‐temperature data and the Clausius‐Clapeyron equation to determine the heat of vaporization for each liquid.

  14. Water evaporation experiment

    Have you ever seen water disappear in front of your eyes? How does this happen? Where does it go? Try this experiment and explore how evaporation works and d...

  15. Science Experiment : Ice, Water, Vapor

    So after asking some fans on Facebook ( check here to see their suggestions for ice experiments ). I came up with a simple, yet fun, interactive science experiment with ice. Watching and causing the changes ofthe phases of water as an ice cube melts and turns into water. It then comes to a boil and vaporizes into thin air, disappearing completely.

  16. Studying Earth's Stratospheric Water Vapor

    In addition to measuring stratospheric ozone and aerosols, the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III instrument on the International Space Station (ISS) measures trace gases including water vapor. Unlike many other science data instruments, SAGE III provides a very precise and highly accurate measurement of water vapor in the ...

  17. EXPERIMENT 11: VAPOUR PRESSURE

    Place about 10 mL of methanol into the funnel of the vapour pressure apparatus. Set the water bath around the flask and start its stirring but do not heat yet. Connect the apparatus to the vacuum tap and turn on the tap. Evacuate the entire apparatus until the pressure inside is about 120 mmHg.

  18. The spectroscopy of water vapour: Experiment, theory and applications

    The recent spectroscopy of water vapour in the ground electronic state is reviewed. Experimental advances from the microwave to the near ultraviolet spectral regions are surveyed. On the theoretical front, new approaches to the calculation of vibration-rotation energy levels are covered. Water spectroscopy f

  19. How to demonstrate the Presence of Water Vapour in Air?

    Take the glass beaker and dry it from outside. 2. Place the ice cubes in the beaker. 3. Leave the ice along with the beaker untouched for some time. Observations -. Water droplets collect on the outside of the glass beaker. Take a dry blue cobalt chloride paper. In the presence of water, the paper turns pink in color.

  20. Cool Science Experiment (Water to Vapor Instantly)

    Air temperature outside is -24 degrees in Merrill, Wisconsin and schools are closed. We took boiling water and tossed it in the air and it became vapor/ice ...

  21. How will you show by experiment that air contains water vapours?

    c)you will see small drops of water appearing on the outer surface of the bottle. d) This is because water vapour present in the air condenses and forms small drops of water. e) This activity proves that air contains water vapour.

  22. WALES: water vapour lidar experiment in space

    The WAter vapour Lidar Experiment in Space (WALES) mission aims at providing water vapour profiles with high accuracy and vertical resolution through the troposphere and the lower stratosphere on a global scale using an instrument based on Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) observation technique, and mounted on an Earth orbiting satellite.<p> </p>This active DIAL technique will also provide ...

  23. Water Resource Control Engineer

    The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the nine (9) Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCB) (collectively the Water Boards) work to preserve, enhance, and restore the quality of California's water resources and drinking water for the protection of the environment, public health, and all beneficial uses, and to ensure proper water resource allocation and efficient use, for ...

  24. Overview for NASA's Northrop Grumman 21st Commercial Resupply Mission

    The Packed Bed Reactor Experiment: Water Recovery Series investigates how gravity affects two-phase flow or simultaneous movement of gas and liquid through porous media. ... - This assembly evacuates the Distillation Assembly at startup, periodically purges non-condensable gases and water vapor, and pumps them into the Separator Plumbing ...