I think I’m using the right word. I’ve noticed that after a rainstorm my dog is in heaven sniffing every centimeter of grass and trees that on dry days never particularly interested him.
Rain actually brings smells down from the atmosphere. It’s the same reason dogs are (generally) so fascinated by snow…except snow has the added thrill of actually HOLDING the smells in the tiny air pockets it creates.
“Smells” was fine, but I don’t think “objective tense” was the right term to describe the way you were using it…
I’m not being a pest here, but I thought that was the right term in English grammar.
Naw, “objective” applies to case of nouns, “tense” applies to timeframe of verbs, there’s no such thing as “objective tense” and tense isn’t the issue here. The term you want is “transitive,” which means “taking an object.”
On first glance it struck me that “smells” was not incorrect, but a better choice would be something like “spends more time sniffing” or “sniffs enthusiastically.”
Yes, he is smelling things, but his act of seeking smells is sniffing. As I write this, I realize that there is a grammatical error: the problem is that “smells” in this sense is a transitive verb (it requires a direct object) so it is grammatically incorrect to say your “dog smells more” - it should be “my dog smells things more” or “my dog sniffs more.” Sniff is an intransitive verb, which makes it the more obvious choice for a sentence with no direct object.
You sensed this problem, even though you couldn’t articulate it, when you tried to specify the tense. Right problem, wrong solution.
At any rate, moisture does heighten smells - think about the difference between the smell of pasta out of the box, and the smell after it is cooked.
I am not sure what is going on. Does dry material, say feces, have less surface area, and less volatilizes? Then when in solution, more can volatilize? Does that explain why it is easier to smell the dog when it is wet? Does it have to do with the vapor pressure? The correct term slips my mind for not, but with water present the vapor pressure of it and anything insoluble add up to atmospheric pressure. Thus water vapor allows more of other things to volatilize. Does wet grass wash more scent off a passing rabbit?
Error in my last post. The sum of the vapor pressures only equal atmospheric pressure at the boiling point. At a lower temperature, the presence of water will still increase the volatilization of other compounds.
A WAG but maybe the rain acts in a physical sense. The force of rain drops striking the plants causes scent molecules to be released into the air.
I’ve noted this behavior in my dog as well.
Have you seriously never noticed how awesome it smells after a rain? Dogs aren’t the only ones who notice. Unless I’m part-dog (I’m not ruling it out).
Anyway it’s called petrichor (Petrichor - Wikipedia): Petrichor is the name of the scent of rain on dry earth. The smell derives from an oil exuded by certain plants during dry periods, whereupon it is absorbed by clay-based soils and rocks. During rain, the oil is released into the air along with another compound, geosmin, producing the distinctive scent.
Maybe as the freshly fallen rain evaporates is carries more scent?
I still can’t remember the exact term, but it is sum of the vapor pressures. What is coming off is the azeotrope. Also rain may mean lower atmospheric pressure also increasing evaporation rates.
- Zombie shuffles, groans: “you fucked up transitive…you fucked up transitive…”*
MIT shows petrichor aerosol slo-mo.
What’s the “WE” and “PE” in the vid?
WE is Weber number
PE is Péclet number
Being a transitive verb just means that it can take a direct object, not that it needs one. I can say “I am eating.” or “I am eating rice.”, for instance, and either one is correct.