Like I know how say putting a pan on the stove dries it up, because the heat makes the water evaporate off the pan. But like if there’s a certain amount of humidity in the room how does turning on the baseboard heater make it so dry? Wouldn’t a water molecule in the air that came into contact with the heater just evaporate back into the very same room? Where does the humidity go?
In: Physics
I think what some of these explanations are missing, is that there is a difference between relative humidity and absolute humidity. Relative humidity is what is most relevant to us, because our body/skin is sensitive to it, as well as the weather (closer to 100% indicates a higher possibility of fog, rain, etc). But absolute humidity is the actual amount of molecules in the air.
Hot air holds more water molecules than cold air. So for any given relative humidity when cold, if the air gets heated without adding or removing water molecules, the absolute humidity remains the same which means that the relative humidity decreases.
Basically every building has a ventilation system even if they don’t have air conditioning. When you heat up the water, it evaporates and mixes with the air in the room. The ventilation then takes the humid air out if the building.
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