Vaporization Defined In-Depth
Vaporization, also known as volatization, is a process by which the active elements of a substance are released through the application of heat without combustion. In other words, the substance is heated, but never burned.
This is an important distinction because when a substance is burned it becomes denatured. Denaturing means that a chemical change takes place and the molecular structure of the substance is actually modified. When denaturing is catalyzed by excessive heat this is known as pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is a major drawback to smoking a material.
When pyrolysis occurs, a molecular breakdown creates new elements that had not been present in the source material prior to combustion. The obvious example is, of course, tobacco. When smoking a cigarette, you seek the effects of tobacco's active element, nicotine. Through the process of smoking, however, you receive not only nicotine, but a handful of toxins and irritants, such as smoke and tar, which have been created by pyrolysis.
In contrast, because vaporization typically requires a temperature lower than a substance's combustion point, pyrolysis never takes place and the substance is never denatured. In other words, vaporization releases the active elements of a substance through a method by which pyrolysis cannot take place. Therefore, it produces a pure aerosol mist comprised only of elements naturally occurring in the source material.
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