User:Stainless316/Sandbox2

Superheated water is liquid water under pressure at temperatures between the usual boiling point (100°C) and the critical temperature (374°C). It is also known as subcritical water and pressurised hot water. The term superheating also refers to water at atmospheric pressure above its normal boiling point, which has not boiled due to a lack of nucleation sites. Superheated water refered to in this article is stable because of an applied over pressure which raised the boiling point, or by heating in a sealed vessel with a headspace, where the liquid water is in equilibrium with vapour at the saturated vapour pressure. Many of the anomolous properties of water are due to very strong hydrogen bonding. Over the superheated temperature range the extensive hydrogen bonds break down, resulting in properties different from those expected from increased temperature alone. Water effectively becomes less polar and behaves in some respects more like an organic solvent such as methanol or ethanol. Solubility of organic materials and gases increases by several orders of magnitude and the water itself can act as a solvent, reagent and catalyst in a range of industrial and analytical applications, including extraction, chemical reactions and cleaning.