Chemblox

 I'm Batman.

Its only humid

When a baseball player hits a ball during an unusually humid night will the ball travel further than it would during a drier atmosphere. First,we should consider how many molecules there are in a certain volume of air. Avagadros number, 6.022 times ten to the twenty-third power, was initially discovered by tying a number of reactive molecules in a certain volume of air. For example, it was discovered that a certain volume of Hydrogen gas, 22.4 liters, contained two grams of Hydrogen. When two of these molar volumes are reacted with 22.4 liters of Oxygen (one mole), which happened to weigh 32 grams, it produced 36 grams of water, H2O (and two moles of vapor.) Although there are slight constants adjustments, the gases of both Hydrogen and Oxygen contain exactly the same volume, despite their differences in mass. And,with the one to one reaction of theses gas molecule, one could be assured that there is indeed the exact same number of constituent molecules. Therefore we can assume, with slight adjustments, that the air containing the Water molecule, as humidity, also has the exact same number of molecules as the air that is more constituted of the representative Nitrogen, Oxygen, and lesser amount gases, in its constitution. So now, with equal numbers of molecules in the atmosphere, but with differing densities, it can be shown that the high humidity air is much less dense than the air without H2O in high concentration. The weight of a di-atomic Oxygen molecule is two times sixteen (the weight of an oxygen molecule), or thirty-two grams per mole (22.4 liters), similarly, Nitrogen gas is two times fourteen, or 28 grams per mole. Water is two hydrogen and one oxygen which has a weight of Eighteen grams per mole. So in equivalent amounts of gas, you have molecules averaging about 29 or so grams per mole, and, when water vapor is added, a much less dense average weight per mole. The pressure of the lighter gases needs to be assimilated into the equation of which gas is easier for a baseball to pass through, since the lighter molecules are moving faster (on average) than the heavier counterparts, so they would hit with a higher momentum against a ball traveling through it. In fact it is the same momentum effect on the ball because, even though the bigger molecules are traveling slower as they impact the ball, their heft of mass imparts a similar impact of kinetic energy. So it seems that there should be an equal impact of the gases with lighter density and faster kinetic speed against higher mass and slower speed molecules against the momentum of the baseball. Then there is the kinetic energy of the baseball itself. The baseball would hit less high H2O concentrated gas molecules, because the molecules become more widely dispersed from their higher velocity, and the baseball can plough through easier, much like a racked pool balls slammed hard travel over further areas of a pool table, or in our case, the area in front of the hit ball, and the baseball will travel further in a high humidity atmosphere.

This combined video shows the fall of a heated centimeter-sized steel sphere through water. From left to right, the sphere is at 25 degrees C (left), 110 degrees C (middle), and 180 degrees C, demonstrating how the Leidenfrost effect—which vaporizes the water in immediate contact with the sphere—can substantially reduce the drag on a submerged object. In the middle video, the vaporization of the water around the sphere is sporadic and incomplete, only slightly reducing the sphere’s drag relative to the room temperature case. The much hotter sphere on the right, however, has a complete layer of vapor surrounding it, allowing it to travel through a gas rather than the denser liquid. (Video credit: I. Vakarelski and S. Thoroddsen; from a review by D. Quere)
(Source: annualreviews.org)

Dave and the Killers

Todd Rundgren Sons Of 1984

Open your eyes and see
The world I couldn't change for you
Reach out your hand and take
The world that will belong to you

We were on our way to a better day
And the spirit was in us all
But as time went by we fell by the wayside
Maybe you'll be the last to fall

You are the only ones
There is nobody left but you
You are the chosen ones
There is nobody else to choose

Back when I was young, my hope was strong
But the time blew it all to hell

If I thought I knew what was good for you
I would have gone and done it for myself

Worlds of tomorrow
Life without sorrow
Take it because it's yours
Sons of 1984

I can still see the great panorama of hate
Being cleansed by our loving hands
But the brothers broke stride, the sisters cried
Now you have to start all over again