Physics › Section I · Temperature, gases, and heat › Topic I.4
Phase changes, humidity, and boiling
Cool or squeeze a gas enough and it stops obeying the ideal gas law: it turns into a liquid. Phase diagrams map when that happens, and the same physics explains why water boils at lower temperatures on mountains, why dew forms at night and why humid days feel so hot.
In this topic
- When a gas stops being ideal
- PV diagrams and the critical point
- Phase diagrams and the triple point
- Worked example: warming ice at two pressures
- Evaporation and vapour pressure
- Boiling
- Relative humidity
- Dew point and comfort
- Worked example: humidity and dew point
- Worked example: a cold drink on a humid day
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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