Patty McCann age 14, of Shreveport, La., for her question:

HOW DOES A STEAM CONDENSER WORK?

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 pound per square inch. Thus, more of the energy of the steam can be used, because 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. When the temperature of steam drops below 100 degrees Celsius, the steam changes into droplets of water.