Spatially Resolved Evaporative Patterns from Water

TL;DR

This paper reports the observation of distinct, geometrically patterned evaporation phenomena on heated water surfaces, linking infrared emission patterns to underlying evaporative mechanisms and proposing a new hypothesis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel observation of patterned evaporation on heated water and correlates infrared emission patterns with the physical process, offering new insights into evaporation mechanisms.

Findings

Distinct geometric patterns observed during water evaporation

Infrared emission patterns closely resemble surface evaporation patterns

Proposes a new hypothesis on the mechanism of evaporation

Abstract

Unexpectedly distinct patterns in evaporation were observed over heated water. Although the patterns had chaotic aspects, they often showed geometric patterns. These patterns bore strong resemblance to the infrared emission patterns observable with a mid-infrared camera focused on the water surface. This similarity puts constraints on the mechanism of evaporation, and leads to a general hypothesis as to the nature of the evaporative process.