How does cool temperatures get rid of sweat faster than higher temperatures? Isnt the rate of evaporation higher at higher temperatures?
In: Physics
I think there is probably a perception problem, which is caused by humidity.
When it is humid, there is a vicious double whammy in your *perception* of the effectiveness of evaporation at higher temperatures. Humidity reduces the evaporation rate (for any given temperature), and evaporation of sweat is of course a key means for your body to lose heat.
This means that when it’s hot and humid sweating is less effective due to humidity so it is harder to get rid of heat which means that:
* because you are hotter you sweat more, so the evaporation of sweat that does occur is harder to notice because sweat is replaced as fast as it evaporates; and
* on top of that, you perceive it to be hotter than it is, for the foregoing reason.
But actually evaporation is occurring rapidly. I live in the sub-tropics. On a hot very humid day I can drink large amounts of water, *feel* like sweating is doing nothing, and yet not need to pee. That water is going somewhere.
When it is hot and not humid, evaporation rates are sky high.
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