Moisture

Moisture
"Damp" redirects here. For other uses, see Damp (disambiguation).
Dew on a spider web

Humidity is the amount of moisture the air can hold before it rains. Moisture refers to the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Small amounts of water may be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in foods, and in various commercial products.

Moisture control in products

NIR sensor for moisture measurement installed on a belt conveyor

Control of moisture in products can be a vital part of the process of the product. There is a substantial amount of moisture in what seems to be dry matter. Ranging in products from cornflake cereals to washing powders, moisture can play an important role in the final quality of the product. There are two main aspects of concern in moisture control in products: allowing too much moisture or too little of it. For example, adding some water to cornflake cereal, which is sold by weight, reduces costs and prevents it from tasting too dry, but adding too much water can affect the crunchiness of the cereal and the freshness because water content contributes to bacteria growth. Water content of some foods is also manipulated to reduce the number of calories.

Moisture has different effects on different products, influencing the final quality of the product. Wood pellets, for instance, are made by taking remainders of wood and grinding them to make compact pellets, which are sold as a fuel. They need to have a relatively low water content for combustion efficiency. The more moisture that is allowed in the pellet, the more smoke that will be released when the pellet is burned.

The need to measure water content of products has given rise to a new area of science, aquametry. There are many ways to measure moisture in products, such as different wave measurement (light and audio), electromagnetic fields, capacitive methods, and the more traditional weighing and drying technique.

See also

External links


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  • Moisture — Mois ture, n. [Cf. OF. moistour, F. moiteur.] 1. A moderate degree of wetness. Bacon. [1913 Webster] 2. That which moistens or makes damp or wet; exuding fluid; liquid in small quantity. [1913 Webster] All my body s moisture Scarce serves to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • moisture — (n.) mid 14c., from O.Fr. moistour moisture, dampness, wetness (13c., Mod.Fr. moiteur), from moiste (see MOIST (Cf. moist)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • moisture — [n] dampness; liquid damp, dankness, dew, drizzle, fog, humidity, mist, perspiration, precipitation, rain, sweat, water, wateriness, wet, wetness; concepts 467,524 Ant. dryness …   New thesaurus

  • moisture — ► NOUN ▪ water or other liquid diffused in a small quantity as vapour, within a solid, or condensed on a surface …   English terms dictionary

  • moisture — [mois′chər] n. [OFr moisteur < moiste: see MOIST] water or other liquid causing a slight wetness or dampness moistureless adj …   English World dictionary

  • moisture — 01. After I take a shower, the walls of our bathroom are covered with [moisture]. 02. You have to make sure that you turn the compost once in a while in order to get air and [moisture] in there to help all the stuff to break down. 03. Sea animals …   Grammatical examples in English

  • moisture — n in coal, that water in and on coal assayed in accordance with standard test methods in which the final step is the measurement of mass loss from a coal sample heated to 104 to 110°C at specified conditions of residence time, atmosphere, sample… …   Coke&Coal Terminology

  • moisture — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ excess ▪ soil ▪ body ▪ surface … OF MOISTURE ▪ bead …   Collocations dictionary

  • Moisture — (Roget s Thesaurus) < N PARAG:Moisture >N GRP: N 1 Sgm: N 1 moisture moisture Sgm: N 1 moistness moistness &c. >Adj. Sgm: N 1 humidity humidity humectation Sgm: N 1 madefaction| madefaction| dew Sgm: N 1 serein …   English dictionary for students

  • moisture — [[t]mɔ͟ɪstʃə(r)[/t]] N UNCOUNT Moisture is tiny drops of water in the air, on a surface, or in the ground. When the soil is dry, more moisture is lost from the plant... Rainfall affects the moisture content of the atmosphere …   English dictionary

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