# How do we sense moisture? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 5, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-sense-moisture/347156 "2006-03-05T18:15:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-sense-moisture/347156/1 "2006-03-05T18:15:19Z")
We all have the ability to immediately tell if something is wet when we touch it, even if there’s only a thin film of water on the surface of an object. How are we able to sense this? Is it part of our normal sense of touch and a wet object literally feels differently then a dry object, even if it’s only a miniscule amount of moisture involved? Or do we have specialized nerves that directly sense the presense of moisture? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-sense-moisture/347156/2 "2006-03-05T19:23:00Z")
I googled but couldn’t find what i was looking for. I read an article recently (can’t remember where) that explained a bit about the way we sense wetness. According to this piece, we don’t sense “wetness” or “moisture” at all. That is, there is nothing in our sense of touch specifically designed to determine wet from dry; there are no skin equivalents of taste buds, coded for different sensations. According to the article, sensing wetness is actually a function of sensing a combination of temperature and pressure—things that we _can_ sense by touch. We come to associate certain combinations of pressure and temperature with wetness, and so learn to know what wetness feels like. And if this is true, it sort of makes sense. My own experience with rubber gloves seems to confirm it. On many occasions when i’ve worn rubber gloves for washing dishes, i have become convinced that there must be a leak in the glove because my hands felt wet. But when i took the gloves off, my hands were perfectly dry. I can only assume that the pressure/temperature combination made them feel wet, even though i was not actually in contact with any water. I wish i could find something to back up my claim here, because i realize that GQ answers should be more than mere speculation. But i know i read this recently, and if i find the reference i’ll post it. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-sense-moisture/347156/3 "2006-03-05T19:30:26Z")
Ah ha, [here’s one reference](http://online.sfsu.edu/~psych200/unit6/64.htm), from a seemingly reputable source, a university: > [@](#): > > Through our skin we can feel itching, burning, and textures that are smooth or rough. We feel things as sticky, wet, or soft. We sense vibrations, cold, and warmth. These and other experiences are variations of three basic skin sensitivities – pressure, temperature, and pain. And [another](http://www.cs.unc.edu/Research/nano/ed/haptic.html): > [@](#): > > For the science learner, kinesthetics allows the individual to explore concepts related to location, range, speed, acceleration, tension, and friction. Haptics enables the learner to identify hardness, density, size, outline, shape, texture, oiliness, wetness, and dampness (involving both temperature and pressure sensations) (Druyan, 1997; Schiffman, 1976). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-sense-moisture/347156/4 "2006-03-05T21:29:55Z")
So theoretically (and this was part of what prompted this line of thought) it would be possible to invent a material that feels wet even when it actually is not?