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Clothes Dryer Physics

water dryer

Rule #1 Apply Heat

Rule 1 is pretty obvious. Whether it be a hair dryer or a clothes dryer, the application of heat accelerates the process of evaporation. As you may have seen in the refrigerator physics section, when sensible heat is applied to water in its liquid form it becomes a vapor. Then it can then be moved away from the water source, allowing more evaporation to take place.

Rule #2 Remove Saturated Air

clothesLine

During the evaporation process the surrounding air can become saturated (full) of water vapor. At this point the air can no longer accept any more evaporating water. By moving the saturated air away from the source of evaporation (your wet clothes in the dryer) the drying process can be sped up. (Clogged dryer ducting is bad.)

Rule #3 Increase surface area

dryer evaporation

Increasing the surface area of a liquid can also increase the speed of the evaporation process.  The more space present between the wet clothing within your dryer drum the more rapidly the moisture within them can be evaporated. (If your dryer drum is not turning it can take a very long time to dry a load of clothes.)

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