On Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 4:16 AM, RussellMc wrote: > VG said >> I have algorithms that can manage that pretty well. Also, tolerance is >> wide enough. > > What Vasile is saying is "Y' canna break the laws of Physics" (as > Scotty noted from time to time). > > In a =A0completely closed system you CANNOT control both temperature and > RH at once. > Read on for what you can do, and how. > > For practical purposes, in a closed system =A0there is a completely > constrained relationship in a closed system between temperature, > pressure, volume and Relative Humidity for a given chamber size, > amount of air, and amount of water. > > Assuming that your other contents do not alter (and what eg plants do > MAY or may not violate that constraint) then messuring eg just mean > temperature will give you mean RH and controlling just temperature > will control RH - not necessarioly in a manner that is desired. > > IF the system under consideration is not closed then you CAN control > both temperature and RH. > If it IS closed then you cannot. > > eg you may have a growing space in a semi sealed container inside a > larger lab. The space can be ventilated with a fan from the lab and > can be heated. Air circulation is provided by an internal fan. If the > test box is too be held warmer than the outside lab then it can be > heated and controlled. Heating the air will reduce the RH. If the RH > in the box is to be lower than the lab then you can probably juggle in > blown air and heating to achieve a desired RH and temperature mix > (don't take that as Gospel.) > > You can reduce RH in the box with eg a Peltier cooler that reduces air > below its dew point so that it loses water content. If you reintroduce > the coiled dier air directly into the box then net temperature and RH > will fall. If you reheat the air before reintroduction you can reduce > box RH and lower or raise temperature depending on degree of reheat. > > If there IS no box and the lab is your whole environment then the > above method works if you drain the condensed water to outside the > lab. If instead you want to increase RH you can use steam or eg an > ultrasonic fogger and water supply. Overall the heater, cooler, water > drain and fogger will give you complete control. The system is not > closed as you allow water to enter and leave and energy for heating > and cooling. For a true otherwise sealed system you will need to vent > your Peltier hot side to outside the system in some cases or at all > times + more heating. > > BUT if you do not have these cross boundary linkages OR a system > within a system (eg box inside lab) you cannot control both > temperature and RH at once. But you can have years of harmless fun > trying. Haha, thanks. But I've already thought of all that! > Have you found a source of 1-2577 in small quantity yet ? :-) > (I have a 1 litre bottle thereof but am 'a bit far away'). I have not found the exact product, but there seems to be some sort of lacquer coating at my university electronics store. I'll go take a closer look. --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .