Getting to the Meat of Things

We're just going to skip over any personal update or commentary and cut straight to the chase.

What you will learn today: Why condensation occurs.

The picture on the left is a control panel to an extreme temperature simulator.  If you can't read what it says, the set temperature (top number) is -45.0 C.  The next number down is -45.3 C. (current temperature)
My senior design group wanted to see how much a heat pipe would shrink if we froze it.  That's why I got to play with the freezer.
All that aside, to the point!
Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor in air compared to the maximum amount of water vapor in air at the same temperature; that is to say the current vapor pressure of water divided by saturation vapor pressure. In a formula:
P[H2O in air]/P[saturation @ temp] - (if the top value is at 70 F, then you want the saturation pressure at 70 F)
This changes with temperature; as temperature rises, relative humidity goes down.  Conceptually: you have a cube of air with a given amount of water in the air.  You heat it up.  The amount of water in the air stays the same, but the air can now hold more water, and the number on the bottom of that equation increases. (the result shrinks)  And the opposite is true.  You freeze the cube and the amount of water it can hold decreases. (value up)
Okay, now you a master at relative humidity.  You pour yourself a glass of ice cold... Water.  The ice cold glass is surrounded by hot air.  The amount of water in the hot air is equal to the amount of water in the cold air surrounding the glass, but the saturation pressure at the lower temperature is less.  It is so much less, in fact, that the relative humidity goes above 1 so water has to come out of the air and you get...

Condensation

You now have something interesting to explain to everyone when you feel like you can't make small talk and there's that awkward silence. ...

What makes a Nathan: (more appropriately, what Nathan makes)

I love to cook and I love to eat.  (which came first, the appetite or the hobby?)

This is my take on food: it's fuel, but fun to experiment with. Here are my fundamentals:

These are carbs. Left is complex, right is simple. (kudos if you know what they are)

Complex

Simple

Simple is good for filling you now and giving you energy now. Complex is good for keeping you full and giving you energy later.

Blueberries, Anyone?

(In my head simple: good for training now, complex: good for the long run this weekend)

Due to caloric density, you must eat a large volume of complex for it to really matter.  Actually, that makes sense since most complex carbs weigh quite a bit less than simple ones.

Another rule: Color is good. Eat the rainbow, just not skittles.

I was complemented on my rainbow today.

Ways to get affects from both complex and simple carbs? Eat both. Duh.

But to me, no meal is truly complete without meat. I love meat. Mmmmm... Steak.  Or in this case, fish.

Hey, my grill had to make it in somewhere.

Oh! And as you see from the above, you can grill a lot of things, like pineapple! Its amazing. Trust me.

As you can see from the mass of pictures, I really love food.

And the best part, food is like math.  Its just simple addition.  Salad+pineapple+fries+salmon = YUM!

Don't worry.  I only ate half the pineapple and salmon. Everything else, though...

And remember, tip your waiters and waitresses.