Having heard the term "hydroscopic" used frequently to describe the ability for a chemical or material to absorb water from the atmosphere, I was suprised to find out that the term has nothing to do with this.
Hydroscopic is pertaining to a "hydroscope";
*hydroscopic*:
Noun
An optical device used for viewing objects far below the surface of water.
Other forms
hy'dro?scop'ic adj.
Whereas Hygroscopic seems to be the correct term;
*hygroscopic*:
Adjective
Readily absorbing moisture, as from the atmosphere.
Other forms
hy'gro?scop'i?cal?ly adv.hy'gro?sco?pic'i?ty n.
However, this site seems to suggest that neither words can be used to describe a material's ability to absorb water. (Although the definition it then provides for hygroscopic seems somewhat contradictory).
I apologise if this is, infact, old news.
Dave

Hydroscopic, Hygroscopic or neither?
Started by pymp, Sep 15 2006 08:05 PM
2 replies to this topic
#1
Posted 15 September 2006 - 08:05 PM
#2
Posted 15 September 2006 - 08:49 PM
The way it is pronounced may be a cause for people misspelling it.
#3
Posted 15 September 2006 - 09:32 PM
The way it is pronounced may be a cause for people misspelling it.
Everyone thinks 'Water, hydration etc, so it must be hydro!' but a hygrometer is used for measuring humidity or the vapour content of a gas (I use one at work for testing things).
You can never have a long enough fuse...
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