Boiling Point of an Element

Boiling point of an element is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid form of that element equals the atmospheric pressure.  At the boiling point, a liquid will turn into a gas (vapor) throughout the entire liquid.  The boiling point of an element depends on various factors, such as the strength of intermolecular forces between the atoms or molecules of the substance, the pressure of the surroundings, and the purity of the substance.  Generally, substances with stronger intermolecular forces (such as hydrogen bonding) will have higher boiling points.

The boiling point of an element can vary widely depending on the element.  For example, the boiling point of helium, which is the lightest noble gas, is just 4.2 Kelvin (-268.9 °C), while the boiling point of tungsten, one of the densest elements, is 5,930 Kelvin (6,656 °C).

The boiling point of an element can also change with pressure.  For example, water boils at 100 °C at standard atmospheric pressure, but at higher altitudes where atmospheric pressure is lower, water boils at a lower temperature.  Conversely, at higher pressures, the boiling point of a substance will be higher.  The boiling point of an element is an important physical property that can be used to identify and characterize substances, and it has many practical applications in fields such as chemistry, engineering, and materials science.