Some words used in the steam industry are used in every day speech and are understood in a general way.

These same words when use by a scientist or an engineer have very specific meanings, which are misinterpreted by someone who does not use them in their scientific sense regularly.

An example would be the following sentences. "The water is boiling. I can see steam coming out of the pot." Those who work with steam know that it is invisible and that the cloud that is seen above the pot of boiling water is actually water droplets that form as the steam cools and condenses as it mixes with the air above the pot.

There are also many different ways to represent the amount of moisture dissolved in the air or other atmosphere. Relative humidity, specific humidity, humidity ratio, dew point, percent by volume, and grams per cubic meter are all used to express a measure of the amount of water vapour mixed with other gases.

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