Wrzenia

Wrzenie, in Polish often referred to in science as boiling, is the rapid phase transition of a liquid into a vapor when heat raises the liquid to its boiling point or when its vapor pressure equals the surrounding pressure. Unlike evaporation, which occurs at the surface and can take place at many temperatures, boiling involves the formation of vapor bubbles within the liquid that grow and rise to the surface, releasing vapor.

The boiling point depends on ambient pressure. At standard atmospheric pressure (about 101.3 kPa), water boils at 100°C. Lower pressures cause boiling at lower temperatures, while higher pressures raise the boiling temperature. Boiling proceeds through several regimes: nucleate boiling, where bubbles form at nucleation sites on a heating surface and grow; transition boiling, where bubble formation becomes intermittent; and film boiling, where a continuous vapor film forms between the surface and liquid, insulating the surface and reducing heat transfer (the Leidenfrost effect).

Factors influencing boiling include the liquid’s properties (latent heat of vaporization, vapor pressure, surface tension), the temperature difference with the surroundings, pressure, impurities, and surface roughness. In practical applications, boiling is central to steam generation, distillation, and cooking, but it can pose hazards such as scalding or explosive boiling if conditions change rapidly.

See also: phase transition, evaporation, condensation, boiling point, nucleate boiling.