Is There a Material That Allows Air to Pass Through But Not Water?

[larry_emder]

Does a material exist which can allow air to pass through it, but does not allow water to?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, - I am dumb myself at this stuff!

 

[Clausius2]

Does a material exist which can allow air to pass through it, but does not allow water to?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, - I am dumb myself at this stuff!

I'm wearing a "Dockers" trousers. Did you ever heard about them? They repel water by means of surface tension considerations, but let the air pass trough it.

 

[larry_emder]

Nope , never heard of them! Please explain how they work!

 

[xJuggleboy]

Teflon coated materials don't allow water to pass threw... But do alow gasses. Dont quite rember how they work

 

[rdt2]

Does a material exist which can allow air to pass through it, but does not allow water to?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, - I am dumb myself at this stuff!

'Goretex' is gas-permeable (including air and water vapour) but will stop liquid droplets (including water droplets).

http://www.gore.com

 

[FredGarvin]

There are materials used in the pertroleum clean up business that allow air and certain petroluem products to be absorbed but repel water as well.

 

[Astronuc]

I imagine these materials work on the 'hydrogen' bond, which of course is present in water (H₂O) but absent in air (N₂ + O₂).

see

hydrogen bond -
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/atoms/bonding/hbond.html#top

van der Waals force -
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/atoms/bonding/vdw.html

 

[Uno Lee]

I remember a funnel / filter for removing water from camping fuel. It had a filter made of felt. I think air goes through felt, but I don't know if this will work without the camping fuel.

 

[RPI_Quantum]

Waterproofing

Some designer materials allow perspiration in the form of water vapor molecules to permeate while keeping droplets of water out by way of extremely small pores in the material. As was mentioned above, this is possible due to surface tension.

A material like this can be considered water-proof and breathable. I would assume that's how the docker's pants work, but I may be mistaken in that assumption.

 

[1123581321]

i haven't actually looked but...

www.howstuffworks.com

search for gore tex or dockers or teflon or waterproofing...

Fibonacci