How light can vaporize water without the need for heat ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Researchers discovered that light can cause evaporation of water from a surface without the need for heat. This 'photomolecular effect' could be important for understanding climate change and for improving some industrial processes. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240424160652.htm quote: "The effect is strongest when light hits the water surface at an angle of 45 degrees. It is also strongest with a certain type of polarization, called transverse magnetic polarization. And it peaks in green light -- which, oddly, is the color for which water is most transparent and thus interacts the least. Chen and his co-researchers have proposed a physical mechanism that can explain the angle and polarization dependence of the effect, showing that the photons of light can impart a net force on water molecules at the water surface that is sufficient to knock them loose from the body of water. But they cannot yet account for the color dependence, which they say will require further study." Harry
