JessiccaFact: Haze
October 9th 2006 06:00
When my brother and I were on our way back to the city we were all stuck in the haze environment and it was so bad we couldn’t even see the city skyscrapers.
Then my brother commented, “It’s really smoky out there… but wait, this is haze. So what’s the difference between haze and smoke?”
What does Wikipedia has to say?
Haze:
Haze is an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other pollutant particles obscure the normal clarity of the sky. It occurs when dust and smoke particles accumulate in relatively dry air. When weather conditions block the dispersal of smoke and other pollutants they concentrate and form a usually low-hanging shroud that impairs visibility and may become a respiratory health threat. Dense haze caused by industrial pollution is also known as smog.
Sources for haze particles include farming (ploughing in dry weather), traffic, industry, forest fires and peat field fire.
Seen from afar (e.g. approaching airplane), haze is brownish, while mist is more blueish-grey. While haze is formed in relatively dryish air, in more humid air mist is formed, and the haze particles can even act as condensation nucleii for the mist droplets.
Smoke:
Smoke is a suspension in air (aerosol) of small particles resulting from incomplete combustion of a fuel. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires (including stoves and lamps) and fireplaces, but may also be used for pest control (cf. fumigation), communication (smoke signals), defence (smoke-screen) or inhalation of tobacco or other drugs. Smoke is sometimes used as a flavouring agent and preservative for various foodstuffs. Smoke is also sometimes a component of internal combustion engine exhaust gas, particularly diesel exhaust.
Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor fires. The smoke kills by a combination of thermal damage, poisoning and pulmonary irritation caused by carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and other combustion products.
Smoke particles are actually an aerosol (or mist) of solid particles or liquid droplets that are close to the ideal range of sizes for Mie scattering of visible light. This effect has been likened to three-dimensional textured privacy glass—the smoke cloud does not obstruct an image, but thoroughly scrambles it.
So smoke is more condensed than haze, and haze is actually an atmosphere that also might have smoke. The latest pollution news is the haze created by the smoke of the Sumatra and Kalimantan forest fire. And this will cause health hazard. There are readings of air pollution index (API) from the government to warn citizens not to venture out if the API was too high and unhealthy.
Then my brother commented, “It’s really smoky out there… but wait, this is haze. So what’s the difference between haze and smoke?”
What does Wikipedia has to say?
Haze:
Haze is an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other pollutant particles obscure the normal clarity of the sky. It occurs when dust and smoke particles accumulate in relatively dry air. When weather conditions block the dispersal of smoke and other pollutants they concentrate and form a usually low-hanging shroud that impairs visibility and may become a respiratory health threat. Dense haze caused by industrial pollution is also known as smog.
Sources for haze particles include farming (ploughing in dry weather), traffic, industry, forest fires and peat field fire.
Seen from afar (e.g. approaching airplane), haze is brownish, while mist is more blueish-grey. While haze is formed in relatively dryish air, in more humid air mist is formed, and the haze particles can even act as condensation nucleii for the mist droplets.
Smoke:
Smoke is a suspension in air (aerosol) of small particles resulting from incomplete combustion of a fuel. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires (including stoves and lamps) and fireplaces, but may also be used for pest control (cf. fumigation), communication (smoke signals), defence (smoke-screen) or inhalation of tobacco or other drugs. Smoke is sometimes used as a flavouring agent and preservative for various foodstuffs. Smoke is also sometimes a component of internal combustion engine exhaust gas, particularly diesel exhaust.
Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor fires. The smoke kills by a combination of thermal damage, poisoning and pulmonary irritation caused by carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and other combustion products.
Smoke particles are actually an aerosol (or mist) of solid particles or liquid droplets that are close to the ideal range of sizes for Mie scattering of visible light. This effect has been likened to three-dimensional textured privacy glass—the smoke cloud does not obstruct an image, but thoroughly scrambles it.
So smoke is more condensed than haze, and haze is actually an atmosphere that also might have smoke. The latest pollution news is the haze created by the smoke of the Sumatra and Kalimantan forest fire. And this will cause health hazard. There are readings of air pollution index (API) from the government to warn citizens not to venture out if the API was too high and unhealthy.
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