Difference Between Evaporation and Boiling

Evaporation is a slow, quiet process where liquid turns into vapor at temperatures below its boiling point.

• Surface Phenomenon: It only happens at the very top surface of the liquid. The particles at the surface absorb enough heat from the surroundings to break free and escape into the air.
• Cooling Effect: Because evaporation absorbs heat from its immediate surroundings, it causes a cooling effect. (This is why sweating cools our bodies, and water stays cool in an earthen pot).
• Example: A puddle of rainwater drying up slowly under the sun.

Boiling is a rapid, violent process where a liquid turns into a gas only when it is heated to a specific temperature called its Boiling Point (e.g., $100^\circ C$ for water).

• Bulk Phenomenon: It happens throughout the entire volume of the liquid, not just the surface. You can see bubbles of vapor forming at the bottom of the pot and rising to the top.
• Cooling Effect: Boiling does not produce a cooling effect; it requires constant external heat (like a stove) to continue.
• Example: Heating water on a gas stove to make tea.