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Desiccation

 
Desiccation

 
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Desiccation
 
 
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Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant
Desiccant

A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains a state of dryness in its local vicinity in a moderately-well sealed container.Commonly encountered pre-packaged desiccants are solids, and work through absorption or adsorption of water, or a combination of the two....
 is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately-well sealed container.

Desiccator In science
Science

In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In its more usual restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research....
, a desiccator
Desiccator

Desiccators are sealable enclosures containing desiccants used for preserving moisture-sensitive items. A common use for desiccators is to protect chemicals which are hygroscopic or which react with water from humidity....
 is a heavy glass
Glass

Glass generally refers to a Hardness, brittle, transparency amorphous solid, such as that used for windows, many Glass Bottles, or eyewear, including, but not limited to, soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass, acrylic glass, sugar glass, Muscovite , or aluminium oxynitride....
 or plastic
Plastic

Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic chemistry solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products....
 container used in practical chemistry
Chemistry

Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions....
 for making or keeping small amounts of material very dry. The material is placed on a shelf, and a drying agent or desiccant, such as dry silica gel
Silica gel

Silica gel is a granularity, vitreous, highly porosity form of silica made synthetically from sodium silicate. Despite its name, silica gel is a solid....
 or anhydrous sodium hydroxide
Sodium hydroxide

Sodium hydroxide , also known as lye, caustic soda and sodium hydrate, is a caustic metallic Base . Sodium hydroxide forms a strong alkaline solution when dissolved in a solvent such as water, however, only the hydroxide ion is basic....
, is placed below the shelf.

Often some sort of humidity
Humidity

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in a Air parcel of air to the saturated vapor pressure of water vapor at a prescribed temperature....
 indicator is included in the desiccator to show, by color changes, the level of humidity.






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Encyclopedia


Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant
Desiccant

A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains a state of dryness in its local vicinity in a moderately-well sealed container.Commonly encountered pre-packaged desiccants are solids, and work through absorption or adsorption of water, or a combination of the two....
 is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately-well sealed container.

Science


Desiccator

In science
Science

In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In its more usual restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research....
, a desiccator
Desiccator

Desiccators are sealable enclosures containing desiccants used for preserving moisture-sensitive items. A common use for desiccators is to protect chemicals which are hygroscopic or which react with water from humidity....
 is a heavy glass
Glass

Glass generally refers to a Hardness, brittle, transparency amorphous solid, such as that used for windows, many Glass Bottles, or eyewear, including, but not limited to, soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass, acrylic glass, sugar glass, Muscovite , or aluminium oxynitride....
 or plastic
Plastic

Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic chemistry solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products....
 container used in practical chemistry
Chemistry

Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions....
 for making or keeping small amounts of material very dry. The material is placed on a shelf, and a drying agent or desiccant, such as dry silica gel
Silica gel

Silica gel is a granularity, vitreous, highly porosity form of silica made synthetically from sodium silicate. Despite its name, silica gel is a solid....
 or anhydrous sodium hydroxide
Sodium hydroxide

Sodium hydroxide , also known as lye, caustic soda and sodium hydrate, is a caustic metallic Base . Sodium hydroxide forms a strong alkaline solution when dissolved in a solvent such as water, however, only the hydroxide ion is basic....
, is placed below the shelf.

Often some sort of humidity
Humidity

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in a Air parcel of air to the saturated vapor pressure of water vapor at a prescribed temperature....
 indicator is included in the desiccator to show, by color changes, the level of humidity. These indicators are in the form of indicator plugs or indicator cards. The active chemical is cobalt chloride (CoCl2). Anhydrous
Anhydrous

As a general term, a substance is said to be anhydrous if it contains no water. The way of achieving the anhydrous form differs from one substance to another....
 cobalt chloride is blue. When it bonds with two water molecules, (CoCl2•2H2O), it turns purple. Further hydration results in the pink hexaaquacobalt(II) chloride complex [Co(H2O)6]2+.

Biology and ecology


In biology
Biology

Biology is a branch of the natural sciences concerned with the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and their environment ....
 and ecology
Ecology

Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
, desiccation refers to the drying out of a living organism, such as when aquatic animals are taken out of water, or when plants are exposed to sunlight or drought. Ecologists frequently study and assess various organisms' susceptibility to desiccation.

Broadcasting

In broadcast engineering
Broadcast engineering

Broadcast engineering is the field of electrical engineering, and now to some extent computer engineering and information technology, which deals with radio and television broadcasting....
, a desiccator may be used to pressurize the feedline of a high-power transmitter. Because it carries very high electrical power
Electric power

Electric power is defined as the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt .When electric current flows in a circuit, it can transfer energy to do mechanical work or work ....
 levels from the transmitter
Transmitter

For biologic transmitters, see transmitter substance.A transmitter is an Electronics machine which, usually with the aid of an antenna , propagates an electromagnetic radiation Signalling such as radio, television, or other telecommunications....
 to the antenna
Antenna (radio)

An 'antenna' is a transducer designed to transmitter or receive Electromagnetic radiations. In other words, antennas convert electromagnetic waves into electrical currents and vice versa....
, the feedline must have a good dielectric
Dielectric

A dielectric is a nonconducting substance, i.e. an Insulator . The term was coined by William Whewell in response to a request from Michael Faraday....
. Because it must also be lightweight so as not to overload the radio tower
Radio masts and towers

Radio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antenna s for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television....
, air is often used as the dielectric. Since moisture
Moisture

Moisture generally refers to the presence of water, often in trace amounts.The moisture content is often an important aspect of various Food including cheese and many dried goods such as tea where excess moisture can promote Bacteria, Bacterial decay, Mold, or Rot over time....
 can condense in these lines, desiccated air or nitrogen
Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674?. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere....
 gas
Gas

In physics, a gas is a state of matter, consisting of a collection of particles without a definite shape or volume that are in more or less random motion....
 is pumped in. This pressure
Pressure

Pressure is the force per unit area applied to an object in a direction surface normal to the surface. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure....
 also keeps water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 or other dampness from coming in the line at any point along its length.

See also

  • List of desiccants
    List of desiccants

    A desiccant is a substance that absorbs water. It is most commonly used to remove humidity that would normally degrade or even destroy products sensitive to moisture....
  • Hygroscopy
    Hygroscopy

    Hygroscopy is the ability of a substance to attract water molecules from the surrounding Natural environment through either absorption or adsorption....
  • Mummy
    Mummy

    A mummy is a corpse whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness, very high humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs....
  • Desiccation tolerance
    Desiccation tolerance

    Desiccation tolerance refers to the ability of an organism to withstand or endure extreme dryness, or drought-like conditions. Plants and animals living in arid or periodically arid environments such as temporary streams or ponds may face the challenge of desiccation, therefore physiological or behavioral adaptations to withstand these period...


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