Originally Posted by
BubbaLoop
The weight of hydrogen peroxide is virtually the same as water, but its tendency to form vapor in the first place is very, very low. Even if a molecule gets the energy input necessary to vaporize (significantly more than necessary for water, because hydrogen peroxide is actually better at hydrogen bonding), it would mostly decompose, not vaporize.The vapor would not remain anywhere, because there is almost no molecule in this form in the first place.
Actually, H2O2 is significantly heavier than H20 because it has that extra Oxygen atom. The question is, is it heavier than air?
Air: mostly N2 mol weight 28 -78% or so
some O2 32 - 21%
some CO2 44 traces
some H2O 18 traces
H2O2 is 34, so heavier than the main components of air. That isn't to say there is no CO2 at the ceiling or no N2 on the floor, as things do mix. However, walking through a terminal with a glass of H2O2, once you stopped moving (and thus stirring the air over the glass) there would probably be a very thin layer above the liquid. Since it's room temperature, well below the boiling point, I'd think the amount of H2O2 vapor above the cup would be very low.
Also, the stuff is reactive, and in light it converts to O2 and H2O pretty quickly (hence, the brown bottles). I'd wonder, form the card carrying chemists, how much would actually be in the vapor stage as H2O2 and thus detectable, and how much would simply decompose into O2 and H20 before reaching the strip.