What’s the ratio of air to water at that percent? Is there a cap on the amount of moisture in the air? Is it the same for different elevations?
In: Earth Science
When people say the humidity is 50%, they’re really talking about the *relative* humidity. That’s a comparison between how much water vapor is in the air and how much the air can possibly hold at that temperature. The actual amount of water the air can hold varies with temperature and pressure, but generally hot air can hold a lot more than cold air.
When the number gets to 100%, that means the air can’t take any more water. At that point, your sweat doesn’t really evaporate, so you tend to be covered in sweat as your body tries to cool itself. Anything colder than the air, like a soda can, will be covered in water, because the air next to it gets cooled down, can’t hold the water it already has in it, and dumps that water onto the can.
You’ll also see water dripping out of air conditioners, because they use cold coils to cool the air, and that also makes water come out of the air. That’s also why your sweat dries up so fast when you walk into an air conditioned building.
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