Autumn, the time of ambiguous weather situations is coming up. The question of whether to take an umbrella on one of these days, when it looks like it might rain any moment can be answered in a straightforward scientific way: If you do take an umbrella with you, it won't rain. If you leave it at home, rain will come down. We all have experienced that phenomenon over and over. But why is it so?
Well let's dig a little bit into physics. As we might remember, air can absorb and hold a certain amount of humidity. The warmer the air is, the more it can hold. If it holds as much as possible at a given temperature, we speak about 100% relative humidity. If this humidity increases, the water molecules will condense into drops and there will be rain.
Now, if you walk around with an umbrella in your hand, your surface is bigger and there is more friction between you and the air you are passing through. This way the air warms up more than it would, had you left the umbrella at home. Consequently, the relative humiditiy sinks and - no rain! If you leave your umbrella behind, you will not create enough friction and temperature increase, and you will get wet.
0 comments on To Carry an Umbrella or Not to Carry
Add a comment
To add comments without entering your email and image verification, you must be logged in. Login or Join Blogster
