Visible light does not speed up water evaporation, rigorous experiments suggest
In recent experiments involving hydrogels and water droplets, researchers have proposed that exposure to visible light could make water evaporate faster without heating it.
In recent experiments involving hydrogels and water droplets, researchers have proposed that exposure to visible light could make water evaporate faster without heating it.
The short version
- However, direct evidence that light acts on water itself has proven elusive.
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- Through new research published in PNAS , Mischa Bonn and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, have put the idea through a rigorous series of tests.
What happened
They found that visible light has no measurable effect on the evaporation of pure water—hinting at an alternative influence on the evaporation rate that has yet to be discovered. In previous experiments, researchers investigated the impact of visible light exposure on water-soaked gels called hydrogels, as well as tiny water droplets.
Why it matters
Surprisingly, the water in these samples seemed to evaporate more quickly than could be explained by warming alone.
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