Humidity and its

measurment
Submitted by:Monika(12001005096)

Humidity :Humidityis the amount ofwater vaporin

theair. Water vapor is the gaseous state of
water and is invisible.
There are mainly three types of humidity: Relative humidity
Absolute humidity
Specific humidity

Absolute humidity: Absolute

humidityis basically the water

content of air.
Absolute humidity is the mass of water
vapor,, per unit volume of total air and
water vapor mixture,, which can be
expressed as:
AH=M/p
o

Here,p is the volume of total air and vapour

mixture and M is mass of water vapour.

 The

absolute humidity changes as

airtemperatureorpressurechanges.
In short, we can say that absolute humidity
is the total amount of water vapour present
in a given volume of air.

Relative humidity:The relative humidityof an air-water mixture is

defined as the ratio of thepartial pressureof
water vapor (H2O)in the mixture to the
saturatedvapor pressureof waterat a given
temperature. Thus the relative humidity of air is a
function of both water content and temperature.
Relative humidity is normally expressed as a
percentage of ratio of partial pressure and
vapour pressure .
Relative humidity is an importantmetricused
inweather forecastsand reports.

Specific humidity: Specific

humidity(or moisture content) is

the ratio of water vapor,, to unit mass of
dry airin any given volume of the
mixture,and is expressed as:Sh=mv/(mv+ma)
Here mv is mass of water vapour and ma is
mass of dry air.
Specific humidity is also defined as the
ratio of water vapor to the total mass of the
system (dry air plus water vapor).

Measurement of humidity:The instrument which is used for humidity measurement is

hygrometer.
Hygrometer:Ahygrometeris an instrument used for
measuring the moisture content in the atmosphere.
Humidity measurement instruments usually measure
some of other quantity such as temperature, pressure, mass
or a mechanical or electrical change in a substance as
moisture is absorbed. By calibration and calculation, these
measured quantities can lead to a measurement of humidity
Modern electronic devices use temperature of condensation
(thedew point), or changes in electricalresistanceto
measure humidity differences.

Types of hygrometer:

Metal paper coil type

Hair tension hygrometer
Metal paper coil type hygrometer:The metal-paper
coil hygrometer is very useful for giving a dial
indication of humidity changes. It is very
inexpensive devices, and its accuracy is limited,
with variations of 10% or more. In these devices,
water vapour is absorbed by a salt on paper strip
attached to a metal coil, causing the coil to change
shape. These changes cause an indication on a dial.

Metal paper coil and hair

tension hygrometer:-

Hair tension hygrometer:

These devices use a

human or animal hair
under tension. The
length of the hair
changes with humidity
and the length change
may be magnified by a
mechanism and/or
indicated on a dial or
scale. Whale bone
may be used in place
of hair.