Dew-Point Temperature and Wet-Bulb Temperature: Two Measures of Humidity Dew-Point Temperature Definition: Dew-point temperature is the hypothetical

temperature to which air must be cooled (at constant pressure) so that the air's maximum capacity to "hold" water vapor (which depends on the temperature) drops down to equal the actual amount of water vapor present in the air (that is, so that the air becomes saturated, without adding any water vapor to it). Deduction: The lower the dew-point temperature is, the less water vapor must be present in the air. (That is, the dew-point temperature is a measure of the actual water-vapor content of the air.) Interpretation: The bigger the difference between the air's temperature and its dew-point temperature (that is, the greater the amount by which you have to cool the air at constant pressure to saturate it), the greater must be the difference between the maximum capacity of the air to hold vapor and the amount of vapor actually in the air. Hence, the difference between the temperature and the dewpoint temperature is a measure of how close to saturation the air is. It turns out, very roughly, that each 10C (or roughly 20F) difference between the temperature and dew-point temperature represents a factor of two difference between the amount of water vapor in the air and the maximum capacity of the air to hold water vapor. This can give us a rough sense of the relative humidity. For example, if the temperature were 80F and the dew-point temperature is around 60F, the air would be able hold roughly twice as much water vapor as it actually has in it. (The relative humidity would therefore be around 50%.) If the dew-point temperature were only 40F (that is, an additional 20F lower), then there would be roughly an additional factor of two less water vapor in the air compared to what the air could hold, for a total factor of four less. (The relative humidity would then be only about 25%.) The dew-point temperature is difficult to measure directly. Instead, it's most common to measure the wet-bulb temperature and use it (together with the temperature) to determine the relative humidity and dew-point temperature. Wet-Bulb Temperature Definition: Wet-bulb temperature is the temperature that would be measured by an ordinary liquid-in-glass thermometer with (1) water on its liquid-reservoir "bulb" (the "wet bulb"); and (2) air blowing steadily past it. It is the lowest temperature achievable solely by evaporating water into the air. When air blows past the wet thermometer bulb, water evaporates from the bulb steadily, because the air next to the bulb is constantly being replaced with "fresh"

air. That is, no air stays next to the bulb long enough to become more nearly saturated, which would reduce the evaporation rate. As water evaporates steadily from the wet bulb, sensible heat is converted into latent heat, thereby removing heat from the wet bulb at a steady rate, cooling it. However, as the wet-bulb's temperature drops below the air temperature, heat conducts from the air into the cooler bulb. As the bulb cools farther and farther below the air's temperature, conduction increases and the wet bulb gains heat faster and faster by conduction. After a short time, the increasing heat gain by conduction will finally equal the steady heat loss by evaporation, and the temperature of the bulb will stop falling and hold steady---by definition at the wet-bulb temperature. Deduction: Since water evaporates faster into air that is relatively drier, it follows that the wet bulb loses heat by evaporation faster when the air is relatively drier. This means that the wet bulb must cool relatively more before the rate of heat gain by conduction finally catches up and equals the rate of heat loss by evaporation. That is, the final, steady temperature (the wet-bulb temperature) will be proportionately lower than the air temperature when the air is relatively drier. Interpretation: The bigger the difference between the temperature of the air and the wet-bulb temperature, the relatively drier the air must be. Hence, the difference between the temperature and the wet-bulb temperature is a measure of how close to saturation the air is. We can measure the wet-bulb temperature and the air temperature using a sling psychrometer (demonstrated in class). Using tables such as those in Appendix D of your textbook, we can use these measurements to look up the relative humidity and the dew-point temperature. THE DEWPOINT TEMPERATURE One of the important weather factors that growers should pay attention to in the frost forecast is the dew point temperature. The dew point temperature is the temperature to which the air must be cooled before dew or frost begins to form. The dew point temperature is also a measure of the amount of water vapor in the current air mass. The higher the dew point, the more water vapor there is in the air. Air holds water in various amounts in the invisible gas state, called water vapor. The amount of water vapor in the air, and therefore its dew point, varies with the different air masses that move in and out of the eastern Washington. Therefore, knowing the dew point gives an idea of how moist or dry the air is. At night, the temperature of the air cools down and often reaches its dew point temperature, so the water vapor in the air changes to a visible liquid (dew) or solid (frost). During this change in state, from vapor to a liquid or to frost, a large amount of

heat is released. It is this release of heat during the change in state from a gas to a liquid or solid that is important for frost protection. If the dew point is high, meaning more water vapor in the air and dew forming while temperatures are fairly warm, then the heat released slows down the normal fall in temperature at night and keeps the air temperature from getting too cold. On the other hand, if the dewpoint is low, meaning dry air and dew or frost not forming until temperatures get colder, then heat from the change in state is not released until much later at night, or possibly not at all if the air is so dry that dew or frost do not form. In this case the air temperature can drop rapidly and reach dangerous levels. Usually, the dew point temperature runs in the 30s and 40s in the air masses that cover eastern Washington in the spring. This means that on most nights, when temperatures are falling toward the low 30s, dew will form and slow the temperature fall, keeping temperatures either above critical, or at least from falling so low as to make frost protection difficult. Occasionally, very dry air invades eastern Washington in the spring, resulting in dew points in the teens and low 20s. These dew point values are considered dangerously low. When dew points are this low, the dew point temperature will not be reached so little or no heat will be added to the air. Temperatures will drop steadily and rapidly and can reach critically cold levels. Protection is usually more difficult and must be started well before critical temperatures are reached, due to the fast drop in temperature. Fortunately, low dew point cases are fairly rare and usually occur early in the frost season, when buds are hardier. Very often the dew point temperature is nearly the same over a fairly large area and usually changes only slowly with time, especially when the dew point is in its normal range. This means, for example, that the dew point reported at Yakima airport in the early evening will likely be representative of much of the Yakima valley and will stay about the same or fall slightly during the night. When the air is very dry, with low dew point temperatures, there is often more variability and fluctuation in the dew point over the area. During these very dry cases, growers may need to look at several stations over a period of a few hours to assess a representative dew point for the area. In sum, growers should pay attention to the dewpoint temperature. Dewpoints in the 30s to low 40s are normal and while not ensuring against freezing temperatures, they usually mean temperatures will not fall extremely fast or reach critically low levels and frost protection measures will usually be successful. Dew points running in the teens and low 20s are critical and could mean a long, cold night with possible difficulty in keeping temperatures above critical levels. Clearwest gives the current dewpoint temperature for several sites in eastern Washington in their daily frost forecast. Growers can also select the Current Washington Weather button on our web site to get the latest hourly weather, temperature and dew points values (shown under the DP heading) from reporting stations in eastern Washington

In thermodynamics, an adiabatic process or an isocaloric process is a thermodynamic process in which no heat is transferred to or from the working fluid. The term "adiabatic" literally means impassable (from Greek --, "ah-theeah-vainaein," notthrough-to pass), corresponding here to an absence of heat transfer. For example, an adiabatic boundary is a boundary that is impermeable to heat transfer and the system is said to be adiabatically (or thermally) insulated; an insulated wall approximates an adiabatic boundary. Another example is the adiabatic flame temperature, which is the temperature that would be achieved by a flame in the absence of heat loss to the surroundings. An adiabatic process that is reversible is also called an isentropic process. The opposite extreme -- of maximum heat transfer with the surroundings, causing the temperature to remain constant -- is known as an isothermal process. Since temperature is thermodynamically conjugate to entropy, the isothermal process is conjugate to the adiabatic process for reversible transformations. A transformation of a thermodynamic system can be considered adiabatic when it is quick enough that no significant heat is transferred between the system and the outside. The adiabatic process can also be called quasi-static. At the opposite, a transformation of a thermodynamic system can be considered isothermal if it is slow enough so that the system's temperature remains constant by heat exchange with the outside. Adiabatic heating and cooling are processes that commonly occur due to a change in the pressure of a gas. Adiabatic heating occurs when the pressure of a gas is increased. Diesel engines rely on adiabatic heating during their compression stroke to elevate the temperature sufficiently to ignite the fuel. Adiabatic heating also occurs in the Earth's atmosphere when an air mass descends, for example, in a katabatic wind or Foehn wind flowing downhill. Adiabatic cooling occurs when the pressure of a substance is decreased, such as when it expands into a larger volume. An example of this is when the air is released from a pneumatic tire; the outlet air will be noticeably cooler than the tire. Adiabatic cooling does not have to involve a fluid. One technique used to reach very low temperatures (thousandths and even millionths of a degree above absolute zero) is adiabatic demagnetisation, where the change in magnetic field on a magnetic material is used to provide adiabatic cooling. Adiabatic cooling also occurs in the Earth's atmosphere with orographic lifting and lee waves, and this can form pileus or lenticular clouds if the air is cooled below the dew point. Such temperature changes can be quantified using the ideal gas law, or the hydrostatic equation for atmospheric processes. It should be noted that no process is truly adiabatic. Many processes are close to adiabatic and can be easily approximated by using an adiabatic assumption, but there is always some heat loss. There is no such thing as a perfect insulator.