Daniel Fry, age 13, of Albuquerque, N.M., for his question:

HOW DOES A STEAM CONDENSER WORK?

A steam condenser is a device used on steam turbines to increase the amount of work they can do. A steam condenser consists of a chamber filled with pipes. Cool water flows through the pipes. Steam leaving the turbine passes through the chamber and is cooled by the pipes. This condenses the steam into a liquid and creates a low pressure area in the chamber.

Without a condenser, steam escaping from a turbine would have to push against atmospheric pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch. But the pressure in the condenser is only about 0.7 pounds per square inch.

Because of the condenser, more of the energy of the steam can be used since it does not have to push against the higher atmospheric pressure.

Condensation is the process by which a substance changes from a gas into a liquid. Condensation of a gas to a liquid takes place when the temperature of the gas is lowered below its boiling point.