Conversations on Chemistry Part 16

EMILY.

This, I conjecture, proceeds not so much from the moisture being dissolved, as from its being frozen; is not that the case?

MRS. B.

It is; and the freezing of the watery vapour which the atmospheric heat could not dissolve, produces what is called a h.o.a.r frost; for the particles descend in freezing, and attach themselves to whatever they meet with on the surface of the earth.

The tendency of free caloric to an equilibrium, together with its solvent power, are likewise connected with the phenomena of rain, of dew, &c. When moist air of a certain temperature happens to pa.s.s through a colder region of the atmosphere, it parts with a portion of its heat to the surrounding air; the quant.i.ty of caloric, therefore, which served to keep the water in a state of vapour, being diminished, the watery particles approach each other, and form themselves into drops of water, which being heavier than the atmosphere, descend to the earth. There are also other circ.u.mstances, and particularly the variation in the weight of the atmosphere, which may contribute to the formation of rain. This, however, is an intricate subject, into which we cannot more fully enter at present.

EMILY.

In what manner do you account for the formation of dew?

MRS. B.

Dew is a deposition of watery particles or minute drops from the atmosphere, precipitated by the coolness of the evening.

CAROLINE.

This precipitation is owing, I suppose, to the cooling of the atmosphere, which prevents its retaining so great a quant.i.ty of watery vapour in solution as during the heat of the day.

MRS. B.

Such was, from time immemorial, the generally received opinion respecting the cause of dew; but it has been very recently proved by a course of ingenious experiments of Dr. Wells, that the deposition of dew is produced by the cooling of the surface of the earth, which he has shown to take place previously to the cooling of the atmosphere; for on examining the temperature of a plot of gra.s.s just before the dew-fall, he found that it was considerably colder than the air a few feet above it, from which the dew was shortly after precipitated.

EMILY.

But why should the earth cool in the evening sooner than the atmosphere?

MRS. B.

Because it parts with its heat more readily than the air; the earth is an excellent radiator of caloric, whilst the atmosphere does not possess that property, at least in any sensible degree. Towards evening, therefore, when the solar heat declines, and when after sunset it entirely ceases, the earth rapidly cools by radiating heat towards the skies; whilst the air has no means of parting with its heat but by coming into contact with the cooled surface of the earth, to which it communicates its caloric. Its solvent power being thus reduced, it is unable to retain so large a portion of watery vapour, and deposits those pearly drops which we call dew.

EMILY.

If this be the cause of dew, we need not be apprehensive of receiving any injury from it; for it can be deposited only on surfaces that are colder than the atmosphere, which is never the case with our bodies.

MRS. B.

Very true; yet I would not advise you for this reason to be too confident of escaping all the ill effects which may arise from exposure to the dew; for it may be deposited on your clothes, and chill you afterwards by its evaporation from them. Besides, whenever the dew is copious, there is a chill in the atmosphere which it is not always safe to encounter.

CAROLINE.

Wind, then, must promote the deposition of dew, by bringing a more rapid succession of particles of air in contact with the earth, just as it promotes the cooling of the earth and warming of the atmosphere during the heat of the day?

MRS. B.

Yes; provided the wind be unattended with clouds, for these acc.u.mulations of moisture not only prevent the free radiation of the earth towards the upper regions, but themselves radiate towards the earth; under these circ.u.mstances much less dew is formed than on fine clear nights, when the radiation of the earth pa.s.ses without obstacle through the atmosphere to the distant regions of s.p.a.ce, whence it receives no caloric in exchange. The dew continues to be deposited during the night, and is generally most abundant towards morning, when the contrast between the temperature of the earth and that of the air is greatest. After sunrise the equilibrium of temperature between these two bodies is gradually restored by the solar rays pa.s.sing freely through the atmosphere to the earth; and later in the morning the temperature of the earth gains the ascendency, and gives out caloric to the air by contact, in the same manner as it receives it from the air during the night. --Can you tell me, now, why a bottle of wine taken fresh from the cellar (in summer particularly), will soon be covered with dew; and even the gla.s.ses into which the wine is poured will be moistened with a similar vapour?

EMILY.

The bottle being colder than the surrounding air, must absorb caloric from it; the moisture therefore which that air contained becomes visible, and forms the dew which is deposited on the bottle.

MRS. B.

Very well, Emily. Now, Caroline, can you inform me why, in a warm room, or close carriage, the contrary effect takes place; that is to say, that the inside of the windows is covered with vapour?

CAROLINE.

I have heard that it proceeds from the breath of those within the room or the carriage; and I suppose it is occasioned by the windows which, being colder than the breath, deprive it of part of its caloric, and by this means convert it into watery vapour.

MRS. B.

You have both explained it extremely well. Bodies attract dew in proportion as they are good radiators of caloric, as it is this quality which reduces their temperature below that of the atmosphere; hence we find that little or no dew is deposited on rocks, sand, water; while gra.s.s and living vegetables, to which it is so highly beneficial, attract it in abundance--another remarkable instance of the wise and bountiful dispensations of Providence.

EMILY.

And we may again observe it in the abundance of dew in summer, and in hot climates, when its cooling effects are so much required; but I do not understand what natural cause increases the dew in hot weather?

MRS. B.

The more caloric the earth receives during the day, the more it will radiate afterwards, and consequently the more rapidly its temperature will be reduced in the evening, in comparison to that of the atmosphere.

In the West-Indies especially, where the intense heat of the day is strongly contrasted with the coolness of the evening, the dew is prodigiously abundant. During a drought, the dew is less plentiful, as the earth is not sufficiently supplied with moisture to be able to saturate the atmosphere.

CAROLINE.

I have often observed, Mrs. B., that when I walk out in frosty weather, with a veil over my face, my breath freezes upon it. Pray what is the reason of that?

MRS. B.

It is because the cold air immediately seizes on the caloric of your breath, and, by robbing it of its solvent, reduces it to a denser fluid, which is the watery vapour that settles on your veil, and there it continues parting with its caloric till it is brought down to the temperature of the atmosphere, and a.s.sumes the form of ice.

You may, perhaps, have observed that the breath of animals, or rather the moisture contained in it, is visible in damp weather, or during a frost. In the former case, the atmosphere being over-saturated with moisture, can dissolve no more. In the latter, the cold condenses it into visible vapour; and for the same reason, the steam arising from water that is warmer than the atmosphere, becomes visible. Have you never taken notice of the vapour rising from your hands after having dipped them into warm water?

CAROLINE.

Frequently, especially in frosty weather.

MRS. B.

We have already observed that pressure is an obstacle to evaporation: there are liquids that contain so great a quant.i.ty of caloric, and whose particles consequently adhere so slightly together, that they may be rapidly converted into vapour without any elevation of temperature, merely by taking off the weight of the atmosphere. In such liquids, you perceive, it is the pressure of the atmosphere alone that connects their particles, and keeps them in a liquid state.

CAROLINE.

I do not well understand why the particles of such fluids should be disunited and converted into vapour, without any elevation of temperature, in spite of the attraction of cohesion.

MRS. B.