Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
Why is there a rubber seal around the door? If I attached it to a pump and sealed off the dryer the best I can, how much of a vacuum could I maintain without strengthening the dryer? Since home dryers are unperforated steel cylinders, if the water boiled out of the clothing, wouldn't it just get tossed around until it is re-absorbed?
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The seal is there to keep airflow from entering or exiting from the door. You wouldn't be able to maintain much of a vacuum because even a few PSI creates hundreds of pounds of force. 1 PSI means that there is 1 pound of force placed on every square inch of the material.
You would have to constantly pump air out of the chamber as the water boiled into vapor. The vapor would increase the chamber pressure, so it would have to be reduced with a vacuum pump. I also suspect the cloths would freeze as the water boiled away, since going from a liquid to a gas removes heat.