How does the water take heat from the surface of our skin in the process of changing into water vapour? Does the water take heat out of the surrounding air above our skin as it changes also?
In: Physics
Well, not a qualified response, but here goes.
moisture (or water) is a good absorbent of heat, so as you sweat, the moisture absorbs the heat away from your body and to the surface of your skin, where the resulting moisture then evaporates.
Of course this only works in environments where the surrounding air is drier than the moisture of your body. While the surrounding air will become more moist as the water evaporates, so you need a breeze to move the moist air away.
This does not work in HUMID environments, where the moisture cannot evaporate as efficiently. Which is why Evaporation Air conditioners do not work, in HUMID environments, and why you need a door or window OPEN, to allow excess moisture in the air to escape.
Refrigerated Air Conditioners work by REMOVING humidity from the surrounding air, and cooling the return air, making the air more drier, and allowing your body to remove the excess moisture more quickly. The trade off is they use MORE power than ‘Evap’ air conditioners.
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