Science

What is humidity? »Its definition and meaning

Anonim

Humidity is a climatological factor that is defined as water vapor contained in the atmosphere. As is known, two thirds of the earth is covered by water (oceans, rivers, lakes) from which the water vapor comes. This water vapor allows the formation of clouds, which in turn collaborate with the humidity of the environment, when when condensing they fall to the earth in the form of rain or snow.

Humidity is classified as:

Relative Humidity: is the relationship that exists between the amount of steam in the air and the amount it should have to saturate at the same temperature. This means that when we talk about a relative humidity of 50%, it means that of the total amount of water vapor that the air can cover at that temperature, it only has 50%.

In this case, to be able to measure this type of humidity, meteorology uses an instrument called a Hygrometer, which records both relative humidity and temperature.

Specific Humidity: it has to do with the amount of humidity by weight, which is needed to saturate a kilo of dry air.

Absolute humidity: it is not usually measured frequently, and it has to do with the weight of water vapor per unit volume.

Both specific and absolute humidity are often used (in addition to the meteorological level) to measure wood, coffee beans, cotton, paper, etc. Moisture meters are used to measure this type of humidity.

But why does moisture originate? Well, this happens because as the air heats up, it weighs less and rises, but as it rises it becomes cold and as it cools it causes the water vapor to condense and produce small drops of water that are what cause the rise of the clouds.

The term humidity also serves to refer to the amount of water that permeates a body, for example when clothes get wet it is said to be damp. Humidity can also create certain inconveniences when it appears in houses or other types of buildings, this usually occurs because of some leakage or water filtration, which causes the walls to absorb moisture and is where you can see the appearance of a stain, that when you touch it you will feel wet.

It is important to note that when humidity appears in the house, it is necessary to solve what is producing it, since it can affect the health of the people who live in it.