Superheated steam, steam heated to a temperature higher than the boiling point corresponding to its pressure. It can not exist in contact with water, nor contain water, and resembles a perfect gas; called also surcharged steam, anhydrous steam, and steam gas. Steam and Superheated Steam This demonstration illustrates the characteristics of steam under two different temperature conditions. Initially, water is simply boiled in a flask and allowed to pass through a coil of copper tubing. When a beaker is brought near the end of the tubing, the water condenses to liquid in the beaker. If a match is placed into the steam coming out of the copper tube, nothing happens. If a piece of steel wool is placed into the stream there is no observable change in the steel wool. Two burners are ignited below the copper coil. These burners heat the steam to a very high temperature. The steam still condenses to liquid water in a beaker. A match placed into the superheated steam ignites. When steel wool is placed in the superheated steam, the steel wool glows brightly and reacts with the steam. Reaction with superheated steam can cause metal pipes in electric power plants to corrode and wear out. (When very hot steam is used, the steam will react readily with iron and cause the tubes and other components of the power plant to form iron oxide. This places an upper limit on the temperature of the steam, which also limits the efficiency of the power plant.) In an electric power generating plant <b>...</b>