Adze

we are all made up of atoms, tiny ball like atoms.

I think of an atom as being far more complex than simply a microscopic ball.

It has energy, positive and negative charges, and that electron is apparently 'moving' around a nucleus at an incredibly fast rate - so fast that its more like a 'shell'. Atoms can do more than merely 'exist' as a tiny dot.

What actually is an electron? just a charged speck? what actually is a positive or negative charge? a force of some kind?

I'm saying we're not just inanimate atoms, but we're also energy and forces.

Thanks for the welcome!

Your reply explains a few things for me, I was thinking it would be an instrinsic property, but was wondering why I couldn't find data of that kind for specific substances.

Can you talk about the reasons for the differences in efficiency of NaCl vs KOH?

I'd chosen a few compounds that I have some interaction with, thinking I might be able to use the data. Eg. If I leave a container of ethanol fuel with the lid off for a while, could I get a very rough approximation of how much water it will absorb in a certain time. But it sounds like it would do more evaporating than absorbing of water - which means I shouldn't be as worried about water getting into my fuel as I used to be.

Is there a standard, commonly used measurement for the rate of absorption for hygroscopic solids and liquids?.

I'm looking for a comparison of the hygroscopicity of various substances such as:

Calcium nitrate

Potassium Hydroxide

Ethanol

Sulfuric acid

Eg, if I have 1L of Ethanol, with a given surface area exposed, for a given temperature and humidity, can I calculate a quantity of water absorbed per unit of time?

How would I compare the rate of water absorption between KOH and NaCl?