"I R A Darth Aggie" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:10:26 -0600,
Bill Habr , in
wrote:

+ Relative humidity is the ratio of the vapor pressure to the +
+ equalization vapor pressure at a given temperature with respect to
+ water, usually expressed as a percentage. If you are from the 18th
+ century or before you can replace the word 'equalization' with the
+ word 'saturation' ;-).

Um, "saturation" is proper nomenclature.


In the 18th century it was believed that the atmosphere was like a solution, if one is
adding a chemical to a liquid the liquid may become saturated, however air is not a
liquid. Dalton showed that in the early 1800s. Using the word 'saturation' leads to
misconceptions about what is happening in atmosphere. The reason the relative humidity in
the atmosphere doesn't get much above 100% is because of cloud condensation nuclei that
allow the condensation to form cloud droplets which then coalesce to form cloud drops
which.......






But yes, for a given temperature and pressure, relative humidity is
indeed given as

RH (%) = V/Vs * 100%

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