Moisture expansion is the tendency of matter to change in volume in response to a change in moisture content. The macroscopic effect is similar to that of
thermal expansion
Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change its shape, area, volume, and density in response to a change in temperature, usually not including phase transitions.
Temperature is a monotonic function of the average molecular kinetic ...
but the microscopic causes are very different. Moisture expansion is caused by
hygroscopy
Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption or adsorption from the surrounding environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water molecules become suspended among the substance ...
.
Matter
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