Water vapor or water vapour (see spelling differences), also aqueous vapor, is the gas phase of water. It is one state of water within the hydrosphere. Water vapor can be produced from the evaporation or boiling of liquid water or from the sublimation of ice. Unlike other forms of water, water vapor is invisible. Under typical atmospheric conditions, water vapor is continuously generated by evaporation and removed by condensation. It is lighter than air and triggers convection currents that can lead to clouds.
Water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas along with other gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
Read more about Water Vapor: Water Vapor in Earth's Atmosphere
Famous quotes containing the word water:
“Milton says, that the lyric poet may drink wine and live generously, but the epic poet, he who shall sing of the gods, and their descent unto men, must drink water out of a wooden bowl. For poetry is not “Devil’s wine,” but God’s wine.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)