Article #3 on Noah's Flood & Science
Altering the Amount of Water that can Exist in the Atmosphere in Vaporous Form
(Authors: Moses David, PhD in Chemical Engineering; Preethi Morris, PhD Researcher)
Prior to the flood, the Scripture is clear that rain had never before fallen to the earth from rainclouds overhead suspended in the atmosphere (Gen. 2:5). Rather, there was a mist that came up from the earth to water it (Gen. 2:6).
In light of this, the question may be asked: is there is a certain natural intrinsic value of water, and/or the atmosphere, that would allow for water to be suspended in the atmosphere in vapor form rather than to condense and fall to the ground as rain? Of interest, we propose that such a value exists and is the “latent heat of vaporization”—denoted Lv. This value, Lv, refers to the amount of heat energy required to convert a unit mass of a substance from the liquid phase to the gaseous phase at a constant temperature and pressure. The Lv of any given substance is an intrinsic unalterable physical property. In the following argument, we will explain why we believe a divinely ordained decrease in the Lv, in this case, of water, would allow for the atmosphere to hold more water in vapor form, and prevent the formation of rain clouds, and therefore rain.
To introduce the above premise, it should be recognized that under modern day and known historical atmospheric conditions, rain clouds exist between 2500 and 6500 feet. The relative humidity of water evaporating from the earth is 100%. Of note, the absolute humidity refers to the maximum amount of water in grams that can be held in a kg of air. The relative humidity is a percentage reflecting the actual water held in the air relative to the absolute humidity. As the water vapor rises, atmospheric temperature decreases. By the time the rising water vapor reaches 2500 ft and 6500 ft, the atmospheric temperature is around 20 °C and 12 °C respectively. With the decrease in temperature, gaseous water is unable to stay in vapor form, and condenses into rain droplets, which form rainclouds, and then falls down to the ground as liquid water. Thus, the change in temperature with rising altitude is the critical factor in the formation of rain. At 2500 ft, the relative humidity is 30%, and at 6500 ft, the relative humidity is 10%; this indicates that much of the water has undergone a phase change from gas to liquid and fallen down to the ground as rain. Between 2500 and 6500 feet there is about a 7% decrease in relative humidity per degree Celsius.
Of great relevance to our proposal is the Clausius Clapeyron Equation, which describes the relationship between a substance's vapor pressure and temperature and predicts the rate at which vapor pressure changes with temperature. The Clausius–Clapeyron Equation for water vapor under typical atmospheric conditions (near standard temperature and pressure) is:
To introduce the above premise, it should be recognized that under modern day and known historical atmospheric conditions, rain clouds exist between 2500 and 6500 feet. The relative humidity of water evaporating from the earth is 100%. Of note, the absolute humidity refers to the maximum amount of water in grams that can be held in a kg of air. The relative humidity is a percentage reflecting the actual water held in the air relative to the absolute humidity. As the water vapor rises, atmospheric temperature decreases. By the time the rising water vapor reaches 2500 ft and 6500 ft, the atmospheric temperature is around 20 °C and 12 °C respectively. With the decrease in temperature, gaseous water is unable to stay in vapor form, and condenses into rain droplets, which form rainclouds, and then falls down to the ground as liquid water. Thus, the change in temperature with rising altitude is the critical factor in the formation of rain. At 2500 ft, the relative humidity is 30%, and at 6500 ft, the relative humidity is 10%; this indicates that much of the water has undergone a phase change from gas to liquid and fallen down to the ground as rain. Between 2500 and 6500 feet there is about a 7% decrease in relative humidity per degree Celsius.
Of great relevance to our proposal is the Clausius Clapeyron Equation, which describes the relationship between a substance's vapor pressure and temperature and predicts the rate at which vapor pressure changes with temperature. The Clausius–Clapeyron Equation for water vapor under typical atmospheric conditions (near standard temperature and pressure) is:
In this equation, we are calculating the rate of change in vapor pressure with temperature, or in the case of meteorology, the rate of change in vapor pressure with the temperature gradient that exists from low to high altitude. The saturation vapor pressure is the pressure at which water vapor is in thermodynamic equilibrium with its condensed state. This means the rate of evaporation equals the rate of condensation, or in other words, the maximum amount of water vapor that air can hold at a given temperature. This is related to the absolute humidity. Assuming the saturation vapor pressure, gas constant of water vapor, and temperature of the system are held constant, a decrease in Lv would result in a simultaneous decrease in des/dT, which means there would be less of a change in the amount of water vapor that air can hold with the naturally occurring temperature decline with altitude. What is the implication of this? This means that more water will stay in the atmosphere in the form of vapor even at the lower temperature of higher altitudes without condensing into droplets of rain.
We know that rainclouds form from 2500 ft to 6500 ft as already mentioned. Since the relative humidity of water at 2500 ft is 30%, we can assume that this is the humidity associated with the region where rainclouds and resulting precipitation first begin. According to mathematical calculation, if the Lv is reduced by 30%, the relative humidity would be 30% at around 6500 ft. This means that in the altitude where rainclouds would normally be present due to a drastic phase change of water from gas to liquid form, the water would remain largely in vapor form. This would allow for a large amount of water to be held in the atmosphere as a “mist” that covers the face of the ground (Gen. 2:6).
We know that rainclouds form from 2500 ft to 6500 ft as already mentioned. Since the relative humidity of water at 2500 ft is 30%, we can assume that this is the humidity associated with the region where rainclouds and resulting precipitation first begin. According to mathematical calculation, if the Lv is reduced by 30%, the relative humidity would be 30% at around 6500 ft. This means that in the altitude where rainclouds would normally be present due to a drastic phase change of water from gas to liquid form, the water would remain largely in vapor form. This would allow for a large amount of water to be held in the atmosphere as a “mist” that covers the face of the ground (Gen. 2:6).
Related Articles:
  |  |
RSS Feed