Dehumidifying a Room: Solve the Physics Problem

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a physics problem concerning the dehumidification of a medium to large room within a very short time frame, specifically one minute. Participants are exploring the feasibility and methods of achieving this goal, questioning the assumptions behind the problem.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Conceptual clarification

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants suggest various hypothetical methods, such as lowering the temperature drastically, using air pumps, or employing desiccants. There is also speculation about the implications of achieving absolute dryness and the practicality of the proposed solutions.

Discussion Status

The conversation is ongoing, with participants sharing creative and unconventional ideas. There is an acknowledgment of the hypothetical nature of the question, and while some guidance has been offered, no consensus has been reached regarding a viable solution.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the lack of specific information, such as room dimensions and initial humidity levels, which are essential for a more concrete analysis. The nature of the question appears to be more theoretical than practical, leading to a variety of interpretations and suggestions.

gday56
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There was a physics problem I saw the other day which asked how to dehumidify a medium/large room in one minute. I have absolutely no idea how to figure this out, so I was wondering if any of you know how.
- chris

P.S. If it's impossible to dehumidify in one minute, then I must have read incorrectly, and it's probably 10 minutes.
 
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If you could lower the room's temperature to below freezing, that might work. The colder you make it, the quicker it'll happen. You could also use a large air pump and suck out all the air. No air = no humidity.

By dehumidify, do they mean make sure there's absolutely no water vapor in the air?

I imagine this is a hypothetical question with a clever but impractical answer, as the values you would need to actually compute this are missing. (ie. room size, temperature, initial humidity level, etc.)
 
You can also try blowing large amounts of pulverized sodium hydroxide or calcium oxide into the room. Both are excellent desiccants.
 
Yes it is a hypothetical question and there has to be absolutely no humidity in the air. Both of your answers seem clever, but how is it possible to freeze a room in one minute?
- chris
 
gday56 said:
Yes it is a hypothetical question and there has to be absolutely no humidity in the air. Both of your answers seem clever, but how is it possible to freeze a room in one minute?
- chris
With my hypothetical instant room freezer laser gun!

You could also get a large dump truck and fill the room with dry sand. No air, no humidity.

Or fill the room with water. Or would that be considered 100% humidity?

Or fill the room with a liquid other than water.

Do let us know what the answer is :smile:
 
gday56 said:
how to dehumidify a medium/large room in one minute
Maybe it's a play on words. If you blow up the entire building, technically it's no longer a room so you can't say the "room" has any humidity in it.
 

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