GEOG 040 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Extreme Weather, Humidity, Cool Air
12 Dec 2018
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Document Summary
Latent heat is hidden heat within the molecular structure of water: energy is absorbed or released depending on the phase change. The latent heat of vaporization is 1600 calories absorbed/gram of water. The latent heat of condensation is 1600 calories released/ gram of water. The latent heat of melting is 80 calories/gram of water. The latent heat of freezing is 80 calories/gram of water. Latent heat exchange is the dominant cooling process in earth"s energy balance. Humidity refers to the concentration of water vapor in the air. It is the ability of an air to hold water. Specific humidity is the measurable amount of water vapor that is in an air mass (1) it is not affected by changes in air temperature (2) the mass of vapor for massive air (g/kg) Air is saturated when the rate of evaporation and condensation reach equilibrium: rh=100%, active condensation occurs; rain if there are enough dust particles in the atmosphere.
