Boiling is a physical process in which heating converts a liquid into a gas or vapor. The boiling point or boiling temperature is that point where the vapor pressure of a substance is equal to the atmospheric pressure. For a given atmospheric pressure the boiling point for pure substances is well defined and impurities in a substance broaden the boiling point range.

All matter generally exists in one of three physical phase states commonly described as solid, liquid, or gas. When matter undergoes a phase change, for example from solid to liquid or liquid to gas, there is a significant change in the amount of atomic or molecular motion (i.e., heat). For example, as the motion of molecules in liquid water increases (i.e. the water heats) the collisions of water molecules at the liquid/gas boundary increase in intensity due to the increased kinetic energy of...