[farhanhubble]

I had this understanding too from university physics but now that I think about it why do we assume each molecule has to break away independently. Why can't lumps of molecules break away as long as the group has enough energy to sever bonds with the rest of the bulk?

[elil17]

Well it’s not that it never happens, it’s just that it’s not particularly likely. Heat is disordered kinetic energy, so most often molecules won’t be traveling in the same direction.

[cyanydeez]

from my understanding, water is typically colloidal, so it would make sense that there's no symmetrical bonding to adjacent molecules and that could easily lead to groups being evaporated.

in many cases, layman's science is oversimplified for the benefit of college science. this might be the case