Hooked On Science – How Does Corn Sweat?

Ever been near a field of corn and the air just felt more humid? It’s corn sweat. Here’s the science as to how it happens from Jason Lindsey.

Farmers, in Iowa, produce a whole bunch of corn. Did you know corn sweats? Hey! I know you do and I do, we sweat, the wind blows against our skin, the sweat evaporates, an evaporation, well, is a cooling process. Check out these leaves, on these stalks of corn behind me, the leaves will lose a ton of water. One acre of corn will lose four thousand gallons of water within a day’s time. With all the corn produced here in Iowa, you can imagine how much stickier it feels. And that’s just it, all that water, in the air, makes it feel a lot stickier on a hot summer day.