That seems to defy the laws of physics? No evaporation? Really? I have closed bottles of Lionel and Megasteam that show signs of evaporation over a years time. I'm sure there is some, I just don't know how long it would take.
I do believe that in a month's time, you could not perceive a difference in your open marked bottle, but I pretty sure that some of it did actually evaporate even if it was not obvious...
A bottle of liquid would evaporate slower from that same liquid spread out on a flat surface since it should remain slight cooler and less energetic. Here is one simple explanation:
"This has to do with their boiling point, and their boiling point is connected to the cohesion between the molecules of the liquid. Different liquids have different boiling points because of the molecular forces between the molecules. At room temperature there is a certain amount of energy in the liquid, depending on the boiling point some of the liquid might be at a level to 'evaporate off' ie by becoming so energetic that it becomes gaseous."
"Also the same liquid that is kept at a different temperature or pressure will then have a different rate of evaporation."
This last sentence means that where you kept your bottle is also important and can effect the evaporation which also explains why we could see different observations for the same fluid.
Trust me, the wicks dry out on their own and evaporation however slow it is, is the only culprit I have come up with or it would stay saturated from the day you left it that way without any use.
May be Megasteam can tell us definitively how long it takes to on average to evaporate one of their drops of fluid at lets say 70 degrees and 1 atmosphere or pressure 15 lbs/sq inch?
There are many factors that effect evaporation as well so that could be part of the reason you didn't see much of a change in your open bottle.
To me, there is definitely evaporation going on, but that is my personal experience living in Georgia.
Originally Posted by MartyE:
FWIW, I have had a bottle of MEGA Steam sitting open intentionally on the layout for over a month. None of it evaporated. NADA, none, zilch.