Mist

Additional recommended knowledge

Daily Sensitivity Test

How to ensure accurate weighing results every day?

Essential Laboratory Skills Guide

Mist is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in air. It can occur as part of natural weather or volcanic activity, and is common in cold air above warmer water, in exhaled air in the cold, and in a steam room of a sauna. It can also be created artificially with aerosol canisters if the humidity conditions are right.   The only difference between mist and fog is visibility [1]. This phenomenon is called fog if the visibility is one kilometre or less (in the UK for driving purposes the definition of fog is visibility less than 200 metres, for pilots the distance is 1 kilometre). Otherwise it is known as mist. Seen from a distance, mist is bluish, while haze is more brownish.

Strong superstitious and religious connotations are associated with mist in some cultures.

Mist makes a beam of light visible from the side via refraction and reflection of the suspended water droplets.

Scotch Mist refers to a light, steady drizzle, the name being typical of the Scottish penchant for understatement.

See also

• Fog
• Haze
• Drizzle
• Aeroponics

Mist can also be as high as mountain tops when extreme temparatures are low.