Steam rises off Lake Michigan in Chicago as temps plunge to –23 degrees

Re:Steam rises off Lake Michigan in Chicago as temps plunge ... by benj111 on Wednesday January 30, 2019 @02:05PM (#19038155)

Nitpick perhaps, but is this steam?

According to Merriam Webster [1]

Steam: 1 : a vapor arising from a heated substance 2a : the invisible vapor into which water is converted when heated to the boiling point b : the mist formed by the condensation on cooling of water vapor

I suppose 1 is the most likely candidate, but the water hasn't been heated, it's just less cold, relatively speaking.

Personally I wouldn't describe this as steam.

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/steam

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Re:Steam rises off Lake Michigan in Chicago as temps plunge ... by Udik on Wednesday January 30, 2019 @03:41PM (#19039226)

I'd say it's 2b, right? It's the water normally evaporating from the lake (so it's water vapour), condensated by a sudden drop of temperature in the freezing air?

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Re:Steam rises off Lake Michigan in Chicago as temps plunge ... by benj111 on Wednesday January 30, 2019 @04:49PM (#19039918)

Yes I suppose you're right.

Don't know why that didn't occur to me earlier!

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Re:Steam rises off Lake Michigan in Chicago as temps plunge ... by blacksmith_tb on Wednesday January 30, 2019 @02:28PM (#19038389)

Odd that they don't refer to the phases of matter? Steam is the gaseous phase of water, so I would think this qualifies, even if the conditions that produce it are unusual in Chicago (luckily).

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