A fast method to measure the evaporation rate

Abstract

Latent heat, undoubtedly the most important component of the Earths’ energy cycle, serves two major purposes, cools the natural bodies and controls weather. Timely and accurate measurement of the evaporation rate is, therefore, of paramount interest. Unfortunately, the time needed to measure such a slow process is an hour at the least. In this era of real-time data analysis, there is a need for quick measurement of this parameter. Here we present a unique way to quickly measure the evaporation rate of water. The time duration of the measurement varied between 2.5 and 6 min; this temporal resolution opens new opportunities in the area of plant sciences. The effect of varying atmospheric conditions, including wind speed and Sun-like radiation, were also studied. We also proposed a reduced-order mathematical model for evaporation, whose results agreed reasonably well with those measured in the experiments. The device is easy-to-use, simple to construct, and portable. Considering these benefits, the proposed device can become an integral part of the weather stations and will improve the analysis of the real-time energy distribution at the earths’ surface.