Militarily-Significant Properties of Atmospheric Water Vapor and Its Adsorbed Surface Layers
Abstract
In the development of new military hardware, devices that work well under controlled experimental conditions often fail to be type-classified because they do not work in the battlefield environment. New technology continues to produce increasingly sensitive devices which are, in turn, more vulnerable to unknown factors in the atmospheric environment. Atmospheric humidity effects need to be understood to the extent that they do not cause hardware development programs to fail. Water and its vapor are far more complex than we might realize. Molecular aggregates or clusters comprise liquid water, and water vapor can also be extensively clustered. The liquid/vapor interface of water and interfaces between air and surfaces with adsorbed water layers are not understood at all, but many new scientific clues may soon alter this situation. Adsorbed water surface layers exhibit hysteresis phenomena in adhesion forces and electrical conductivity. In high-voltage fields, water is evaporated at greatly-accelerated rates, and in corona discharges the vapor pressure of water vapor increases significantly even though the vapor temperature does not increase. Keywords: Remote sensing; Monolayers; Ionization detectors; Atmospheric absorption; Adhesion; Infrared; Surface layers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA200285
Entities
People
- Hugh R. Carlon
Organizations
- Edgewood Chemical Biological Center