Why is humid heat so much more unbearable than dry heat?
In: Biology
The element that a lot of these explanations about evaporation are missing is that water (and sweat) are insulators. Meaning they are resistant to the transfer of energy and, as a result heat, than the normal air itself.
Sweat is designed to pull heat from your body and take it into the air as it evaporates. Then that heat is distributed.
In dry air, that heat easilly distributes but in wet air (high humidity) the energy resistance of the water in the air makes it difficult for your sweat to transfer that heat (the biproduct of energy) away from you. So, because the air is both “full” of water, you stay wet and insulated.
It is basically the same reason why fans feel cool, despite the fact that they only move room temperature air. What they are doing is moving the air that surrounds your body–tne air filled with energy and heat your body produces–away from you which allows you to vent more more energy and heat.
Latest Answers