What temperature affects the rate of evaporation?

How Temperature and Light Drive Evaporation

When you leave a puddle outside on a warm, sunny day, you probably notice it disappears much faster than it would on a cold, dreary afternoon. That everyday observation comes down to basic physics and molecular energy.

At a microscopic level, liquid is made of molecules constantly moving and bumping into each other. When you increase the temperature of a substance, you give those molecules a major boost in thermal energy. This means the molecules at the surface vibrate and move much faster. Because they are moving with higher kinetic energy, more of them easily break free from the liquid's surface tension and escape into the air as gas. Simply put: the hotter it gets, the quicker the liquid evaporates.

Temperature isn't the only player in this process. The amount of light hitting the liquid also plays a significant role. Sunlight delivers radiant energy that directly heats both the surface of the liquid and its surroundings. This extra energy accelerates the whole process, turning liquid into vapor at a much quicker pace.