What is the difference between Vapor and Gas?

Gas can be made from a single element or a combination of atoms. Fluorine and chlorine occur as gases, while bromine exists as a liquid and a solid. The atom's size is increased in the halogen group, and large molecules cannot attain free motion in this state because of intermolecular interactions. Gas is a substance in only one state; the gaseous phase is called a thermodynamic state. Vapor can be defined as a substance in which the gaseous phase can co-exist with the liquid phase.

A gas cannot co-exist with a liquid. Steam is water vapor at high temperatures. An example of a vapor-liquid balance in normal conditions is the equilibrium between ethanol and a vapor. Vapor is a transitory state of change of a liquid or a solid, and it may be visible. An example of this is that water vapor is a cloud. All vapors are gases.

Gas and vapor might seem synonymous to you, but those who might have been involved in science in one way or the other who understand that they are typically different. Let me start by saying; a vapor can be a gas, while gas might not necessarily be a vapor. A gas is recognized as one of the states of matter in science, alongside solid and liquid. Gas is also considered a substance with a single thermodynamic state, while vapor is considered a double thermodynamics state, as it can transform between gas and liquid state. A vapor state of a substance can be achieved when there are boiling and evaporation processes. The boiling occurs below the liquid at a particular temperature and pressure, while evaporation takes place at the surface of the liquid. Gas particles do not have a definite shape, but a collection of ions, molecules, atoms, and electrons under a microscopic view.

When you say vapor, this is known to be a type of mixture of different phases that can be found at room temperature. The liquids that you will find can be in gaseous and liquid phases. Gas is known to come in a certain type of state especially when it is at room temperature.

If you would check these two under the microscope, vapor will come with its own shape while gas will not have its own shape when you check it under the microscope. Steam is considered to be a form of vapor because it is a mixture of both liquid and gas.

The type of steam that will be produced will just depend on the various elements that will also be placed there. Remember that gas will not experience any changes in phases.

At room temperature, gas happens to be a substance with a particular thermodynamic state, while vapor is a mixture of two thermodynamic phases, which are liquid phase and gaseous phase. This also implies that a vapor substance has experienced some slight changes in phases at room temperature. A gas, on the other hand, is a compressible fluid, a substance that can be compressed, and whose molecules are past each other in a steady free motion.

A substance will be a vapor when it forms a gas phase, after which the temperature is below its critical temperature. When a gas substance can co-exist with its solid-state or liquid state, it can be referred to as a vapor. Therefore, a vapor is not necessarily formed by boiling. Vapor is actually a state of gas, but gas is not the state of vapor. Vapor can easily be condensed back to a liquid state, but it will take a longer time or process to convert a real gas to liquid.