Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Frosty window


Gotta love New England—It was 1° when we woke up this morning. I'm sure I'll see a tough old New Englander out running with shorts on today. Hey science guys, how does this frost thing happen on windows?
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Postscript! Mark the science guy say this about frost on windows:

"Frost is the deposition of water vapor on a cool surface where the water changes from a vapor directly to a solid. This process is the reverse of "sublimation" which is the evaporation of ice. You will know sublimation has occurred in your freezer when old ice cubes get smaller. Frost will occur on single-pane glass, if the outside temperature is below freezing and the inside temperature is above freezing and the inside air has some moisture. I suspect that frost on windows is not super abundant because indoor air during winter often is very dry. You could do an experiment by taking a pane of glass and cooling one side to freezing (with ice), and then blowing warmer, moist air over the top of the glass. As always, science tells us what is happening in the physical world, but it does not tell us why."

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