If water is clear why is steam white? if you put food coloring in water would the steam be a different color?

Question

some things I wonder.

(I'm not very good with scientific stuff. I'm more into Lit.)

Answer 1

nasa is spending billions on this theory...it will take years till they know..........

Answer 2

Steam isn't white. It's a compilation of tiny water droplets and air, causing it to look white. This concept can be applied to fog as well, because it's the same thing. Water droplets and air. Food coloring and water often have different boiling points or evaporation points, so putting food coloring in water would not exactly result in that color steam. It the dye in the food coloring most likely has a higher boiling point, therefore, the water would boil from the color. If you left the pot on the stove until all the water boiled out, there should be just dye in the bottom of the pot. Be careful trying this though. You don't want to burn up all your pots! Hope this helps!

Answer 3

technically steam is invisible.  what your are really seeing is water vapor like clouds.  and i think it would remain white and uncolored.

Answer 4

LOL!  If one were to look closely at steam, one would see that is compiled of millions of densely packed particles of water droplets which are clear - it appears whitish due to the density and subsequent obscuring of any background. If one were to dye boiling water a color, the resultant steam may include some of the color, since these rising droplets would carry some of the dye into the air.

Now, perhaps you should take this new-found knowledge and write some poignant poetry....

Answer 5

steam will be pure and will not carry colur particles.

But violent boiling will cause priming and foaming when colour may be carried through bubbles forming on boiling.

Answer 6

It has nothing to do with density as the previous answerer said. It has to do with light. The steam appear white to you because the colors or the wavelenghts of the visible spectrum are all reflected. If you put food coloring in water, and the food coloring is not volatile -that is will not also evaporate together with the water as water is evaporated over, then the coloring will stay in the container as the steam is boiled off. Then, the steam will appear white.

Do not mind the sarcasm of one more ignorant person trying to think he/she knows they are better than you. It is your kind of curiosity that propels science.