Evaporation vs Boiling
Evaporation and Boiling are two processes that are looked upon often without difference. Strictly speaking there is difference between the two processes. Evaporation occurs on the surface of the liquid whereas boiling occurs in the liquid in its entirety. This is the main difference between evaporation and boiling.
There is difference between the two states in terms of the time taken too. Boiling takes place very quickly and swiftly too. On the other hand evaporation takes place slowly and gradually. This is a very important difference between the two processes.
In short it can be said that evaporation is a gradual vaporization of a liquid on the surface whereas boiling is a rapid vaporization of a liquid only when it is heated to its boiling point. It is interesting to note that the boiling point is reduced when the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere is reduced.
There are various factors influencing the rate of evaporation. These factors include concentration of other substances in the air, concentration of the substance evaporating in the air, flow rate of air, inter-molecular forces, pressure, surface area, temperature of the substance and density.
On the other hand there are three kinds of boiling called nucleate boiling, transition boiling and film boiling. While evaporation is not characterized by advantages, boiling is certainly characterized by many advantages including safety, digestibility, nutritious cooking and the like. One of the prime disadvantages of boiling is that soluble vitamins present in the foods may be lost to water during the process of boiling.
One of the differences that are clearly visible in the two processes is that you would find the formation of bubbles in boiling. On the other hand you do not find bubbles in evaporation. Another important difference between evaporation and boiling is that evaporation is the process that occurs at any given temperature. On the contrary boiling is the process that occurs only at the specific temperature called the boiling point.
You would find that the particles move very rapidly in the process of boiling than in the process of evaporation. Some particles move fast and some move slowly in evaporation.