Why does bathroom become hot and foggy when we take a shower even with cold water?
In: Chemistry
Why does the bathroom air become hot and foggy in the first place? When warmer air meets a cold front it goes through a phase change known as condensation which is why you’ll get moisture on the walls. The air itself also has capacity to carry tiny water droplets or water vapour which we see as steam/fog. The average human body temperature is around 37 degrees Celsius. Taking a cold shower is quite relative to the persons body temperature. For example, if the water is 23 degrees it can be considered a cold shower shower relative to our body temperature but this is still (for the most part) warmer than the mean air temperature in your home. Again with the two differences in temperature its still possible to go through that condensation phase change, though it probably wont create as much steam/fog as a much warmer shower since the warmer the air the more water vapour it can hold. Of course if you took a longer shower at the same temperature you would also heat the surrounding air to the temperature of your shower which will increase the amount water vapour/steam you can carry.
Edit: grammar and a clarifying sentence.
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