Eli5 how do wet things dry?

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So if your clothes are wet and you hang them out to dry, what is happening to the water? Where does it go? Assuming it’s below 100C so it’s not evaporating

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2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Evaporation can happen at any temperature as long as the water molecules are in constant random motion. Water molecules near the surface of the liquid that has enough speed and energy will become a water vapor (gas).

Anonymous 0 Comments

It is evaporating. The boiling point is just the point at which water *can’t* be liquid. Air can hold some amount of water vapor. This amount is higher in warmer air. The amount of water in the air is what we call “humidity”, which is listed as a percentage of the maximum amount the air could hold at its temperature.

The dryer the air, the faster water will evaporate into it. The warmer the water, the faster it will evaporate as well. Combined, a hotter environment usually means things dry out faster. If the air is at 100% humidity though, things will pretty much never dry