Statistical rate theory (SRT) leads to an expression for the evaporation rate that is in terms of independently determined parameters. A series of experiments have been conducted in which water evaporated from capillaries closed at one end and partially filled to different heights. From the measured evaporation rate, the SRT prediction of the vapor-phase pressure was compared with that determined by an independent technique. When the assumptions used in this technique were valid, the value of the pressure predicted from SRT and from this technique differed by only 0.004 Pa. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.