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Does humid air rise or fall?

mattshellmattshell Posts: 34
in Cigar 101
I'm asking cause I recently turned a wine fridge into a humidor and I have my heat and electronic humidifier on the bottom and beads in the middle and top. I'm trying to decide the best place to put the fan. So, if the electronic humidifier is actually releasing moisture at the bottom, will the humid air stay at the bottom, in which case the fan would be best served on the bottom, or would that humid air rise and therefor the fan should go at the top. Help? Thanks!

Comments

  • bass8844bass8844 Posts: 416
    I would think that the humid air would fall, since it is more dense than air with lower humidity.

    In my setup, I have a cigar oasis electric humidifier at the bottom, and beads at the top. I've maintained a humidity in the high 60's and haven't had any problems. I haven't needed to add a fan, but I don't think that it would hurt to have one in there.
  • rusiriusrusirius Posts: 565 ✭✭
    Actually it's the exact opposite of what you would think... The density of air actually decreases as the humidity rises...

    Air is mostly nitrogen and oxygen... Nitrogen has an atomic weight of 7 while oxygen is 8... Water on the other hand is mostly hydrogen and oxygen... Hydrogen only has an atomic weight of 1...

    So think of it like this...

    A "molecule" of water is H20.. Which has an atomic mass of 10...

    In air Nitrogen and Oxygen form pairs... (Nitrogen forms a triple bond and oxygen a double bond)
    So you have N2 which has an atomic mass of 14 and O2 which has an atomic mass of 16...

    hence the water molecules will "rise" amoung the Nitrogen and Oxygen molecules...
  • urbinourbino Posts: 4,517 ✭
    Unless it's "Backwards Day," in which case they'll fall.
  • rmccloudrmccloud Posts: 160 ✭✭
    rusirius:
    Actually it's the exact opposite of what you would think... The density of air actually decreases as the humidity rises...

    Air is mostly nitrogen and oxygen... Nitrogen has an atomic weight of 7 while oxygen is 8... Water on the other hand is mostly hydrogen and oxygen... Hydrogen only has an atomic weight of 1...

    So think of it like this...

    A "molecule" of water is H20.. Which has an atomic mass of 10...

    In air Nitrogen and Oxygen form pairs... (Nitrogen forms a triple bond and oxygen a double bond)
    So you have N2 which has an atomic mass of 14 and O2 which has an atomic mass of 16...

    hence the water molecules will "rise" amoung the Nitrogen and Oxygen molecules...

    I had always thought that the humid air would rise based on how moisture would form on a mirror when the shower was running but thought that it may have just been due to the heat. Thanks for explaining that actually using science.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    rusirius:
    Actually it's the exact opposite of what you would think... The density of air actually decreases as the humidity rises...

    Air is mostly nitrogen and oxygen... Nitrogen has an atomic weight of 7 while oxygen is 8... Water on the other hand is mostly hydrogen and oxygen... Hydrogen only has an atomic weight of 1...

    So think of it like this...

    A "molecule" of water is H20.. Which has an atomic mass of 10...

    In air Nitrogen and Oxygen form pairs... (Nitrogen forms a triple bond and oxygen a double bond)
    So you have N2 which has an atomic mass of 14 and O2 which has an atomic mass of 16...

    hence the water molecules will "rise" amoung the Nitrogen and Oxygen molecules...
    It seems like whenever i talk to people who have zones in their larger cabinet style humidor the lower RH is at the top and the higher RH is at the bottom... no matter where their Oasis is.

    anyone have a tall cabinet humidor that wont mind messin with RH a tiny bit for the sake of science?
    Kuzi's Forum Links Page
  • Bad AndyBad Andy Posts: 848
    rusirius:
    Actually it's the exact opposite of what you would think... The density of air actually decreases as the humidity rises...

    Air is mostly nitrogen and oxygen... Nitrogen has an atomic weight of 7 while oxygen is 8... Water on the other hand is mostly hydrogen and oxygen... Hydrogen only has an atomic weight of 1...

    So think of it like this...

    A "molecule" of water is H20.. Which has an atomic mass of 10...

    In air Nitrogen and Oxygen form pairs... (Nitrogen forms a triple bond and oxygen a double bond)
    So you have N2 which has an atomic mass of 14 and O2 which has an atomic mass of 16...

    hence the water molecules will "rise" amoung the Nitrogen and Oxygen molecules...
    thanks but now my brain hurts
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