It's slightly different from the light just heating the water. The energy of the individual photons colliding with the water molecules causes them to vaporize without heat transfer.
Yes and this effect is very small compared to the effect of heat, but when accounted for, it can make a difference at scale, in weather and climate simulation models, for example.
Am I stupid if I already believed this to be true and experimentally verified?
If a photon hits water it heats it up (this is not controversial)
If a photo hits a water molecule in exactly the right way can't that cause it to evaporate? We know light can excite an electron.
It's slightly different from the light just heating the water. The energy of the individual photons colliding with the water molecules causes them to vaporize without heat transfer.
Yes and this effect is very small compared to the effect of heat, but when accounted for, it can make a difference at scale, in weather and climate simulation models, for example.