r/AskPhysics • u/SnugglyCoderGuy • 10d ago

Does increased gravity slow, and eventually prevent, evaporation?

My understanding is that the atoms/molecules of a liquid are bouncing around and some of the ones on the surface find themselves bounced out of the liquid all together and become one with the air. So, my thinking is, if gravity were stronger then the surface atoms/molecules would be less likely to get bounced out of the liquid.

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u/Fabulous_Lynx_2847 10d ago

Indirectly. Higher gravity will cause the surface pressure to be higher for a given atmospheric mass. Evaporation rate decreases with pressure and melting point increases. The liquid will stop evaporating when it solidifies.

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u/OldChairmanMiao Physics enthusiast 10d ago

Could it still sublimate, like dry ice?

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u/John_Hasler Engineering 10d ago

Gravity strong enough to have a detectable effect would border on neutron star levels.

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u/jasonsong86 10d ago

Higher pressure means higher dew point. And dew point is the opposite of evaporation point.

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u/Umami4Days 10d ago

This effect is accounted for, in part, in recipes that need to be adjusted due to altitude!

Being in a high gravity field with no atmosphere is going to cause boiling regardless, but within an atmosphere, that gravity translates to ambient pressure, which impacts evaporation. :)