From: Paul Doherty (pauld@exploratorium.edu)
Date: Tue Mar 22 2005 - 11:15:35 PST
Message-Id: <C49872F2-9B06-11D9-B947-000A95B38012@exploratorium.edu> From: Paul Doherty <pauld@exploratorium.edu> Subject: Re: pinhole RE: 100% humidity Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 11:15:35 -0800
Relative humidity has to do with vapor pressure.
The ratio of the actual vapor pressure of water vapor in the atmosphere
to the theoretical maximum vapor pressure over a flat surface is the
relative humidity.
The equilibrium vapor pressure over a curved water drop surface is
higher than that over a flat water surface, so the relative humidity
can be over 100% before water drops form.
Paul D
On Mar 22, 2005, at 7:48 AM, David Lauter wrote:
>
> I think it is possible to have 100% humidity and no rain. Isn't the
> air in a cloud (not a rain cloud) saturated with water vapor, and how
> about small bubbles of air in water? Paul might say something like "A
> rain drop must be massive enough to overcome the kinetic energy of
> Brownian motion which tends to keep particles in suspension. though
> it's more complicated than that."
>
> David Lauter
>
> G. Washington High, SF
>
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