Why does the water in tabletop fountains evaporate at a faster rate…?
Liquids evaporate until the partial pressure of the gasified liquid equals the vapor pressure of the liquid for a given temperature and ambient pressure. What that means is that water will evaporate until it saturates the air above it. The more surface area that a liquid has, the more gas it is in contact with which can be partially filled with the gasified liquid. Presumably, the fountain has more surface area for the water to interacty with the air above it. Additionally, the motion of the fountain can induce convective flow in the air which will carry the high concentration of water vapor away from the liquid water and allow fresh air to reach the liquid surface which further increases the vaporization rate.
