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Originally Posted by denverpete
I'm a bit suspect of the "drawing it out" thing. I'm not saying it won't work - just wondering how.....
Condensation can basically occur because of two things. The first is natural moisture already present in the object. The second is because of moisture drawn into the object. Moisture is only drawn in after the object is heated and then cooled. The heat creates a vacuum and moisture present is then drawn in as the object is cooled.
If you can heat it up then you essentially dry it out. Seal it while it's still warm and you should be able to lock out the condensation. The other benefit of this is that condensation can not occur in a vacuum. Naturally, I have no advice as to how to safely heat the darn thing....
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Hi,
I agree, heat is one way, but you’re really talking about convection.
Moisture will also naturally migrate into an open system as the Relative Humidity in the Air surrounding it increases. Conversely, it will also decrease as the RH decreases as the Humidity will want to equalize.
Salt is
hygroscopic, and can absorb moisture through the Air. In fact, it can absorb a mass of water equal to its own.
A quantity of Salt Crystals (which are surrounded by Air between them) with the Triangle encased in it is sort of Closed atmosphere or system, (not truly closed, but for practical purposes it is). The Salt absorbs the Moisture in the Air around the Crystals. When that happens, the Relative Humidity drops in the system. Since the Triangle is not currently sealed, the Air inside is part of this System.
Two things happen here. First, the RH drops in the system, this lowers the vapor pressure of any liquid water in the Triangle allowing it to more easily evaporate into the Air as moisture (just like a Car in Arizona's Dry Air dries more quickly). Second, the Laws of equilibrium state that the RH in the system will equalize and stabilize.
The Salt keeps absorbing moisture, the Air overall gets lower and lower in RH, and the Triangle will dry out – just as the Air does inside your Car if you place Silica Gel Packs (another hygroscopic substance) in your Interior when you store it.
Happy Motoring!... Jim’99