General Science, Bertha May Clark [miss read books TXT] 📗

Commercially, distillation is a very important process. Turpentine, for example, is made by distilling the sap of pine trees. Incisions are cut in the bark of the long-leaf pine trees, and these serve as channels for the escape of crude resin. This crude liquid is collected in barrels and taken to a distillery, where it is distilled into turpentine and rosin. The turpentine is the product which passes off as vapor, and the rosin is the mass left in the boiler after the distillation of the turpentine.

26. Evaporation. If a stopper is left off a cologne bottle, the contents of the bottle will slowly evaporate; if a dish of water is placed out of doors on a hot day, evaporation occurs very rapidly. The liquids which have disappeared from the bottle and the dish have passed into the surrounding air in the form of vapor. In Section 20, we saw that water could not pass into vapor without the addition of heat; now the heat necessary for the evaporation of the cologne and water was taken from the air, leaving it slightly cooler. If wet hands are not dried with a towel, but are left to dry by evaporation, heat is taken from the hand in the process, leaving a sensation of coolness. Damp clothing should never be worn, because the moisture in it tends to evaporate at the expense of the bodily heat, and this undue loss of heat from the body produces chills. After a bath the body should be well rubbed, otherwise evaporation occurs at the expense of heat which the body cannot ordinarily afford to lose.

Evaporation is a slow process occurring at all times; it is hastened during the summer, because of the large amount of heat present in the atmosphere. Many large cities make use of the cooling effect of evaporation to lower the temperature of the air in summer; streets are sprinkled not only to lay the dust, but in order that the surrounding air may be cooled by the evaporation of the water.

Some thrifty housewives economize by utilizing the cooling effects of evaporation. Butter, cheese, and other foods sensitive to heat are placed in porous vessels wrapped in wet cloths. Rapid evaporation of the water from the wet cloths keeps the contents of the jars cool, and that without expense other than the muscular energy needed for wetting the cloths frequently.

27. Rain, Snow, Frost, Dew. The heat of the sun causes constant evaporation of the waters of oceans, rivers, streams, and marshes, and the water vapor set free by evaporation passes into the air, which becomes charged with vapor or is said to be humid. Constant, unceasing evaporation of our lakes, streams, and pools would mean a steady decrease in the supply of water available for daily use, if the escaped water were all retained by the atmosphere and lost to the earth. But although the escaped vapor mingles with the atmosphere, hovering near the earth's surface, or rising far above the level of the mountains, it does not remain there permanently. When this vapor meets a cold wind or is chilled in any way, condensation takes place, and a mass of tiny drops of water or of small particles of snow is formed. When these drops or particles become large enough, they fall to the earth as rain or snow, and in this way the earth is compensated for the great loss of moisture due to evaporation. Fog is formed when vapor condenses near the surface of the earth, and when the drops are so small that they do not fall but hover in the air, the fog is said "not to lift" or "not to clear."

If ice water is poured into a glass, a mist will form on the outside of the glass. This is because the water vapor in the air becomes chilled by contact with the glass and condenses. Often leaves and grass and sidewalks are so cold that the water vapor in the atmosphere condenses on them, and we say a heavy dew has formed. If the temperature of the air falls to the freezing point while the dew is forming, the vapor is frozen and frost is seen instead of dew.

The daily evaporation of moisture into the atmosphere keeps the atmosphere more or less full of water vapor; but the atmosphere can hold only a definite amount of vapor at a given temperature, and as soon as it contains the maximum amount for that temperature, further evaporation ceases. If clothes are hung out on a damp, murky day they do not dry, because the air contains all the moisture it can hold, and the moisture in the clothes has no chance to evaporate. When the air contains all the moisture it can hold, it is said to be saturated, and if a slight fall in temperature occurs when the air is saturated, condensation immediately begins in the form of rain, snow, or fog. If, however, the air is not saturated, a fall in temperature may occur without producing precipitation. The temperature at which air is saturated and condensation begins is called the dew point.

28. How Chills are Caused. The discomfort we feel in an overcrowded room is partly due to an excess of moisture in the air, resulting from the breathing and perspiration of many persons. The air soon becomes saturated with vapor and cannot take away the perspiration from our bodies, and our clothing becomes moist and our skin tender. When we leave the crowded "tea" or lecture and pass into the colder, drier, outside air, clothes and skin give up their load of moisture through sudden evaporation. But evaporation requires heat, and this heat is taken from our bodies, and a chill results.

Proper ventilation would eliminate much of the physical danger of social events; fresh, dry air should be constantly admitted to crowded rooms in order to replace the air saturated by the breath and perspiration of the occupants.

29. Weather Forecasts. When the air is near the saturation point, the weather is oppressive and is said to be very humid. For comfort and health, the air should be about two thirds saturated. The presence of some water vapor in the air is absolutely necessary to animal and plant life. In desert regions where vapor is scarce the air is so dry that throat trouble accompanied by disagreeable tickling is prevalent; fallen leaves become so dry that they crumble to dust; plants lose their freshness and beauty.

The likelihood of rain or frost is often determined by temperature and humidity. If the air is near saturation and the temperature is falling, it is safe to predict bad weather, because the fall of temperature will probably cause rapid condensation, and hence rain. If, however, the air is not near the saturation point, a fall in temperature will not necessarily produce bad weather.

The measurement of humidity is of far wider importance than the mere forecasting of local weather conditions. The close relation between humidity and health has led many institutions, such as hospitals, schools, and factories, to regulate the humidity of the atmosphere as carefully as they do the temperature. Too great humidity is enervating, and not conducive to either mental or physical exertion; on the other hand, too dry air is equally harmful. In summer the humidity conditions cannot be well regulated, but in winter, when houses are artificially heated, the humidity of a room can be increased by placing pans of water near the registers or on radiators.

30. Heat Needed to Melt Substances. If a