The Hygrometer.
—The instrument most commonly employed for determining atmospheric humidity is the hygrometer. This appliance is composed of two thermometers mounted in a frame with a vessel for holding water. One of the thermometers is intended to register the temperature of the air and is called the dry-bulb thermometer. The bulb of the other—the wet-bulb thermometer—is covered with a piece of cloth or other porous material which is kept saturated with water, absorbed from the water holder. The dryness of the air is indicated in the wet-bulb thermometer by the decline of temperature due to evaporation.
Fig. 157.—Hygrometer of U. S. Weather Bureau type; for determining atmospheric humidity.
The rate of evaporation from the wet-bulb covering will vary with the humidity and if the air is very dry the wet-bulb thermometer will register a temperature several degrees below that of the other thermometer. If the air is saturated with moisture, no evaporation will take place and the thermometers will read alike. The relative humidity of the air as indicated by the readings of the thermometers is taken directly from a humidity table. The table is made to suit any condition of atmospheric humidity and the determinations require no calculation.
Fig. 157 shows the U. S. Weather Bureau pattern hygrometer such as is used at the weather stations. The wet-bulb thermometer has a muslin or knitted silk covering which dips into a metal water cup as shown in the figure. It is important that the covering of the wet bulb be kept in good condition. The evaporation of the water from the covering leaves in the meshes particles of solid matter that were held in solution in the water. The accumulation of the solids ultimately prevent the water from thoroughly wetting the wick.
An observation consists in reading the two thermometers and from the difference between the wet-bulb reading and that of the dry-bulb, the relative humidity is taken directly from the table. To illustrate, suppose that the dry-bulb thermometer reads 60° and that the wet-bulb reads 56°. The difference between the two readings is 4°. In the table of relative humidity on [page 202], 60° is found in the column headed, Air temp. t, and opposite that number in the column headed 4 is 78, which indicates that under the observed conditions the air is 78 per cent. saturated with moisture. This table is suited for air temperatures from 35°F. to 80°F. and depressions of the wet-bulb thermometer from 1°F. to 20°F. The table, therefore, has a range of variations which will admit humidity determinations for all ordinary conditions.
Fig. 158.—The hygrodeik. A form of hygrometer in which relative humidity is found directly from a diagram.