Adze

I think of an atom as being far more complex than simply a microscopic ball. It has energy, positive and negative charges, and that electron is apparently 'moving' around a nucleus at an incredibly fast rate - so fast that its more like a 'shell'. Atoms can do more than merely 'exist' as a tiny dot. What actually is an electron? just a charged speck? what actually is a positive or negative charge? a force of some kind? I'm saying we're not just inanimate atoms, but we're also energy and forces.

Thanks for the welcome! Your reply explains a few things for me, I was thinking it would be an instrinsic property, but was wondering why I couldn't find data of that kind for specific substances. Can you talk about the reasons for the differences in efficiency of NaCl vs KOH? I'd chosen a few compounds that I have some interaction with, thinking I might be able to use the data. Eg. If I leave a container of ethanol fuel with the lid off for a while, could I get a very rough approximation of how much water it will absorb in a certain time. But it sounds like it would do more evaporating than absorbing of water - which means I shouldn't be as worried about water getting into my fuel as I used to be.

Is there a standard, commonly used measurement for the rate of absorption for hygroscopic solids and liquids?. I'm looking for a comparison of the hygroscopicity of various substances such as: Calcium nitrate Potassium Hydroxide Ethanol Sulfuric acid Eg, if I have 1L of Ethanol, with a given surface area exposed, for a given temperature and humidity, can I calculate a quantity of water absorbed per unit of time? How would I compare the rate of water absorption between KOH and NaCl?