Visible light does not speed up water evaporation, rigorous experiments suggest
New research from the Max Planck Institute suggests that visible light does not accelerate the evaporation of pure water, challenging the previously proposed 'photomolecular effect.' The study used precise laser measurements to confirm that light exposure alone does not cause water to evaporate faster than thermal heating would explain.
Why it matters
This finding corrects a scientific misconception that could have influenced climate modeling and the development of solar-powered water purification technologies.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Proposed 'photomolecular effect' was found to be inaccurate. Credit: Yucong Chen et al. In recent experiments involving hydrogels and water droplets, researchers have proposed that exposure to visible light could make water evaporate faster without heating it. However, direct evidence that light acts on water itself has proven elusive.
Through new research published in PNAS , Mischa Bonn and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, have put the idea through a rigorous series of tests. They found that visible light has no measurable effect on the evaporation of pure water—hinting at an alternative influence on the evaporation rate that has yet to be discovered.
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