This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. WikiProject Physics or the Physics Portal may be able to help recruit one. If a more appropriate WikiProject or portal exists, please adjust this template accordingly. (November 2008)

Vaporization of an element or compound is a phase transition from the liquid phase to gas phase. There are two types of vaporization: evaporation and boiling.

Evaporation is a phase transition from the liquid phase to gas phase that occurs at temperatures below the boiling temperature at a given pressure. Note: evaporation usually occurs on the surface

Boiling is a phase transition from the liquid phase to gas phase that occurs at or above the temperature the boiling temperature.Note boiling occurs below the surface.

The term vaporization has also been used to refer to the physical destruction of an object that is exposed to intense heat. As noted in discussions of the effects of nuclear weapons, this includes the "vaporization" of human bodies by the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and of the Marshall Island of Elugelab by the 1952 thermonuclear test Ivy Mike.[1]

This physical chemistry-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.