Relative humidity

Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye.^[2] Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.

Humidity depends on the temperature and pressure of the system of interest. The same amount of water vapor results in higher relative humidity in cool air than warm air. A related parameter is the dew point. The amount of water vapor needed to achieve saturation increases as the temperature increases. As the temperature of a parcel of air decreases it will eventually reach the saturation point without adding or losing water mass. The amount of water vapor contained within a parcel of air can vary significantly. For example, a parcel of air near saturation may contain 28 g of water per cubic metre of air at 30 °C (86 °F), but only 8 g of water per cubic metre of air at 8 °C (46 °F).

Three primary measurements of humidity are widely employed: absolute, relative, and specific. Absolute humidity is expressed as either mass of water vapor per volume of moist air (in grams per cubic meter)^[3] or as mass of water vapor per mass of dry air (usually in grams per kilogram).^[4] Relative humidity, often expressed as a percentage, indicates a present state of absolute humidity relative to a maximum humidity given the same temperature. Specific humidity is the ratio of water vapor mass to total moist air parcel mass.

Humidity plays an important role for surface life. For animal life dependent on perspiration (sweating) to regulate internal body temperature, high humidity impairs heat exchange efficiency by reducing the rate of moisture evaporation from skin surfaces. This effect can be calculated using a heat index table, or alternatively using a similar humidex.

The notion of air "holding" water vapor or being "saturated" by it is often mentioned in connection with the concept of relative humidity. This, however, is misleading—the amount of water vapor that enters (or can enter) a given space at a given temperature is almost independent of the amount of air (nitrogen, oxygen, etc.) that is present. Indeed, a vacuum has approximately the same equilibrium capacity to hold water vapor as the same volume filled with air; both are given by the equilibrium vapor pressure of water at the given temperature.^[5]^[6] There is a very small difference described under "Enhancement factor" below, which can be neglected in many calculations unless great accuracy is required.

Definitions

Absolute humidity

Absolute humidity is the total mass of water vapor present in a given volume or mass of air. It does not take temperature into consideration. Absolute humidity in the atmosphere ranges from near zero to roughly 30 g (1.1 oz) per cubic metre when the air is saturated at 30 °C (86 °F).^[8]^[9]

Absolute humidity is the mass of the water vapor $(m_{{\text{H}}_{2}{\text{O}}})$ , divided by the volume of the air and water vapor mixture $(V_{\text{net}})$ , which can be expressed as:

AH={\frac {m_{{\text{H}}_{2}{\text{O}}}}{V_{\text{net}}}}.

If the volume is not set, the absolute humidity varies with changes in air temperature or pressure. Because of this, it is inappropriate for computations in chemical engineering, such as drying, where temperature variations might be significant. As a result, absolute humidity in chemical engineering may refer to mass of water vapor per unit mass of dry air, also known as the humidity ratio or mass mixing ratio (see "specific humidity" below), which is better suited for heat and mass balance calculations. Mass of water per unit volume as in the equation above is also defined as volumetric humidity. Because of the potential confusion, British Standard BS 1339^[10] suggests avoiding the term "absolute humidity". Units should always be carefully checked. Many humidity charts are given in g/kg or kg/kg, but any mass units may be used.

The field concerned with the study of physical and thermodynamic properties of gas–vapor mixtures is named psychrometrics.

Relative humidity

The relative humidity ( $RH$ or $\varphi$ ) of an air-water mixture is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor ( $p$ ) in air to the saturation vapor pressure ( $p_{s}$ ) of water at the same temperature, usually expressed as a percentage:^[11]^[12]^[5]

\varphi =100\%\cdot p/p_{s}

In other words, relative humidity is the ratio of how much water vapour is in the air to how much water vapour the air could potentially contain at a given temperature. It varies with the temperature of the air: colder air can contain less vapour, and water will tend to condense out of the air more at lower temperatures. So changing the temperature of air can change the relative humidity, even when the absolute humidity remains constant.

The air does not actually "hold" water vapour. The concept of relative humidity is quite separate from any chemical reactions going on between water vapour and other gasses. Chemistry aside, the condensation and evaporation is independent of the composition of the air, and changes with the temperature.^[5]

Chilling air increases the relative humidity, and can cause the water vapour to condense (if the relative humidity rises over 100%, the dew point). Likewise, warming air decreases the relative humidity. Warming some air containing a fog may cause that fog to evaporate, as the droplets are prone to total evaporation due to the heat.

Relative humidity only considers the invisible water vapour. Mists, clouds, fogs and aerosols of water do not count towards the measure of relative humidity of the air, although their presence is an indication that a body of air may be close to the dew point.

Relative humidity is normally expressed as a percentage; a higher percentage means that the air–water mixture is more humid. At 100% relative humidity, the air is saturated and is at its dew point. In the absence of a foreign body on which droplets or crystals can nucleate, the relative humidity can exceed 100%, in which case the air is said to be supersaturated. Introduction of some particles or a surface to a body of air above 100% relative humidity will allow condensation or ice to form on those nuclei, thereby removing some of the vapour and lowering the humidity.

Relative humidity is an important metric used in weather forecasts and reports, as it is an indicator of the likelihood of precipitation, dew, or fog. In hot summer weather, a rise in relative humidity increases the apparent temperature to humans (and other animals) by hindering the evaporation of perspiration from the skin. For example, according to the heat index, a relative humidity of 75% at air temperature of 80.0 °F (26.7 °C) would feel like 83.6 ± 1.3 °F (28.7 ± 0.7 °C).^[13]^[14]

Relative humidity is also a key metric used to evaluate when it is appropriate to install flooring over a concrete slab.

Relationship between absolute humidity, relative humidity, and temperature

In the Earth's atmosphere at sea level:

Absolute humidity in g/m³ (oz/cu. yd)^[15]^[16]
Temperature	Relative humidity
Temperature	0%	10%	20%	30%	40%	50%	60%	70%	80%	90%	100%
50 °C (122 °F)	0 (0)	8.3 (0.22)	16.6 (0.45)	24.9 (0.67)	33.2 (0.90)	41.5 (1.12)	49.8 (1.34)	58.1 (1.57)	66.4 (1.79)	74.7 (2.01)	83.0 (2.24)
45 °C (113 °F)	0 (0)	6.5 (0.18)	13.1 (0.35)	19.6 (0.53)	26.2 (0.71)	32.7 (0.88)	39.3 (1.06)	45.8 (1.24)	52.4 (1.41)	58.9 (1.59)	65.4 (1.76)
40 °C (104 °F)	0 (0)	5.1 (0.14)	10.2 (0.28)	15.3 (0.41)	20.5 (0.55)	25.6 (0.69)	30.7 (0.83)	35.8 (0.97)	40.9 (1.10)	46.0 (1.24)	51.1 (1.38)
35 °C (95 °F)	0 (0)	4.0 (0.11)	7.9 (0.21)	11.9 (0.32)	15.8 (0.43)	19.8 (0.53)	23.8 (0.64)	27.7 (0.75)	31.7 (0.85)	35.6 (0.96)	39.6 (1.07)
30 °C (86 °F)	0 (0)	3.0 (0.081)	6.1 (0.16)	9.1 (0.25)	12.1 (0.33)	15.2 (0.41)	18.2 (0.49)	21.3 (0.57)	24.3 (0.66)	27.3 (0.74)	30.4 (0.82)
25 °C (77 °F)	0 (0)	2.3 (0.062)	4.6 (0.12)	6.9 (0.19)	9.2 (0.25)	11.5 (0.31)	13.8 (0.37)	16.1 (0.43)	18.4 (0.50)	20.7 (0.56)	23.0 (0.62)
20 °C (68 °F)	0 (0)	1.7 (0.046)	3.5 (0.094)	5.2 (0.14)	6.9 (0.19)	8.7 (0.23)	10.4 (0.28)	12.1 (0.33)	13.8 (0.37)	15.6 (0.42)	17.3 (0.47)
15 °C (59 °F)	0 (0)	1.3 (0.035)	2.6 (0.070)	3.9 (0.11)	5.1 (0.14)	6.4 (0.17)	7.7 (0.21)	9.0 (0.24)	10.3 (0.28)	11.5 (0.31)	12.8 (0.35)
10 °C (50 °F)	0 (0)	0.9 (0.024)	1.9 (0.051)	2.8 (0.076)	3.8 (0.10)	4.7 (0.13)	5.6 (0.15)	6.6 (0.18)	7.5 (0.20)	8.5 (0.23)	9.4 (0.25)
5 °C (41 °F)	0 (0)	0.7 (0.019)	1.4 (0.038)	2.0 (0.054)	2.7 (0.073)	3.4 (0.092)	4.1 (0.11)	4.8 (0.13)	5.4 (0.15)	6.1 (0.16)	6.8 (0.18)
0 °C (32 °F)	0 (0)	0.5 (0.013)	1.0 (0.027)	1.5 (0.040)	1.9 (0.051)	2.4 (0.065)	2.9 (0.078)	3.4 (0.092)	3.9 (0.11)	4.4 (0.12)	4.8 (0.13)
−5 °C (23 °F)	0 (0)	0.3 (0.0081)	0.7 (0.019)	1.0 (0.027)	1.4 (0.038)	1.7 (0.046)	2.1 (0.057)	2.4 (0.065)	2.7 (0.073)	3.1 (0.084)	3.4 (0.092)
−10 °C (14 °F)	0 (0)	0.2 (0.0054)	0.5 (0.013)	0.7 (0.019)	0.9 (0.024)	1.2 (0.032)	1.4 (0.038)	1.6 (0.043)	1.9 (0.051)	2.1 (0.057)	2.3 (0.062)
−15 °C (5 °F)	0 (0)	0.2 (0.0054)	0.3 (0.0081)	0.5 (0.013)	0.6 (0.016)	0.8 (0.022)	1.0 (0.027)	1.1 (0.030)	1.3 (0.035)	1.5 (0.040)	1.6 (0.043)
−20 °C (−4 °F) Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Relative_humidity Text je dostupný za podmienok Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 Unported; prípadne za ďalších podmienok. Podrobnejšie informácie nájdete na stránke Podmienky použitia. Navigácia: Veda > Analytika Antropológia Aplikované vedy Bibliometria Dejiny vedy Encyklopédie Filozofia vedy Forenzné vedy Humanitné vedy Knižničná veda Kryogenika Kryptológia Kulturológia Literárna veda Medzidisciplinárne oblasti Metódy kvantitatívnej analýzy Metavedy Metodika Metodológia vedy Náboženstvo a veda Náučná literatúra Podvody vo vede Popularizácia vedy Potravinárstvo Prírodné vedy Pseudoveda Scientometria Spoločenské vedy Teórie Teatrológia Technické vedy Technika Terminológia Umenie Výskum Veda Veda a technika podľa štátu Veda a technika podľa kontinentu Veda a technika podľa roka Veda v kozme Vedci Vedecká literatúra Vedecké databázy Vedecké experimenty Vedecké konferencie Vedecké metódy Vedecké ocenenia Vedecké organizácie Vedecké parky Vedeckí spisovatelia Vzdelávanie Záhady Príbuzné výrazy: Text je dostupný za podmienok Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 Unported; prípadne za ďalších podmienok. Podrobnejšie informácie nájdete na stránke Podmienky použitia. www.astronomia.sk \| www.biologia.sk \| www.botanika.sk \| www.dejiny.sk \| www.economy.sk \| www.elektrotechnika.sk \| www.estetika.sk \| www.farmakologia.sk \| www.filozofia.sk \| Fyzika \| www.futurologia.sk \| www.genetika.sk \| www.chemia.sk \| www.lingvistika.sk \| www.politologia.sk \| www.psychologia.sk \| www.sexuologia.sk \| www.sociologia.sk \| www.veda.sk I www.zoologia.sk

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]