Condensation

Condensation is the cha nge of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, a nd is the reverse of
va porization. The word most often refers to the water cycle.[1] It ca n a lso be defined as the cha nge in the state of
water va por to liquid water when in contact with a liquid or solid surface or cloud condensation nuclei within the
atmosphere. When the tra nsition ha ppens from the gaseous phase into the solid phase directly, the cha nge is
ca l led deposition.

Condensation forming in the low pressure zone a bove the wing of a n a ircraft d ue to ad ia batic expa nsion

Initiation

Condensation is initiated by the formation of atomic/molecula r clusters of that species within its gaseous volume
—like rain d rop or snow fla ke formation within clouds—or at the contact between such gaseous phase a nd a liquid
or solid surface. I n clouds, this ca n be cata lyzed by water-nucleating proteins, produced by atmospheric
microbes, which a re ca pa ble of binding gaseous or liquid water molecules.
[2]
 Reversibility scenarios

A few distinct reversibility scena rios emerge here with respect to the nature of the surface.

a bsorption into the surface of a liquid (either of the sa me substa nce or one of its solvents)—is reversible as
eva poration.[1]

adsorption (as dew d roplets) onto solid surface at pressures a nd temperatures hig her tha n the species' triple
point—a lso reversible as eva poration.

adsorption onto solid surface (as supplementa l layers of solid) at pressures a nd temperatures lower tha n the
species' triple point—is reversible as sublimation.

Most common scenarios

Condensation commonly occurs when a va por is cooled a nd/or compressed to its saturation limit when the
molecula r density in the gas phase reaches its maxima l threshold. Va por cooling a nd compressing equipment
that col lects condensed liquids is ca l led a "condenser".

Condensation on a window on a cold day.

Condensation on the outside of a window, d ue to it being in front of the sea which reg ula rly prod uces moist sea spray.

Measurement

Psychrometry measures the rates of condensation throug h eva poration into the air moisture at va rious
atmospheric pressures a nd temperatures. Water is the product of its va por condensation—condensation is the
process of such phase conversion.

Applications of condensation

In cloud cha mbers a liq uid (sometimes water, but usua lly isopropa nol) condenses upon contact with a pa rticle of rad iation thus prod ucing
a n effect simila r to contra ils

Condensation is a crucia l component of distil lation, a n importa nt la boratory a nd industria l chemistry a pplication.
Because condensation is a natura l ly occurring phenomenon, it ca n often be used to generate water in la rge
qua ntities for huma n use. Ma ny structures a re made solely for the purpose of col lecting water from
condensation, such as air wel ls a nd fog fences. Such systems ca n often be used to retain soil moisture in a reas
where active desertification is occurring—so much so that some orga nizations educate people living in affected
a reas a bout water condensers to hel p them dea l effectively with the situation.[3]

It is a lso a crucia l process in forming pa rticle tracks in a cloud cha mber. I n this case, ions produced by a n incident
pa rticle act as nucleation centers for the condensation of the va por producing the visible "cloud" trails.

Commercia l a pplications of condensation, by consumers as wel l as industry, include power generation, water
desa lination,[4] therma l ma nagement,[5] refrigeration,[6] a nd air conditioning.[7]

Biological adaptation

N umerous living beings use water made accessible by condensation. A few exa mples of these a re the Austra lia n
thorny devil, the da rkling beetles of the Na mibia n coast, a nd the coast redwoods of the West Coast of the
United States.

Condensation in building construction

Condensation on a window d uring a ra in shower.

Condensation in building construction is a n unwa nted phenomenon as it may cause da mpness, mold hea lth
issues, wood rot, corrosion, wea kening of morta r a nd masonry wa l ls, a nd energy pena lties due to increased
heat tra nsfer. To a l leviate these issues, the indoor air humidity needs to be lowered, or air ventilation in the
building needs to be improved. This ca n be done in a number of ways, for exa mple opening windows, turning on
extractor fa ns, using dehumidifiers, d rying clothes outside a nd covering pots a nd pa ns whilst cooking. Air
conditioning or ventilation systems ca n be insta l led that hel p remove moisture from the air, a nd move air
throug hout a building.[8] The a mount of water va por that ca n be stored in the air ca n be increased simply by
increasing the temperature.[8] However, this ca n be a double edged sword as most condensation in the home
occurs when wa rm, moisture heavy air comes into contact with a cool surface. As the air is cooled, it ca n no
longer hold as much water va por. This leads to deposition of water on the cool surface. This is very a ppa rent
when centra l heating is used in combination with sing le g lazed windows in winter.

I nterstructure condensation may be caused by therma l bridges, insufficient or lacking insulation, da mp proofing
or insulated g lazing.[9]

Table

Phase tra nsitions of matter (

v t e (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.ph p?title=Template:Ta ble_of_phase_tra nsitions&action=edit) )

To
Solid Liquid Gas Plasma
From
Solid Melting Sublimation

Liquid Freezing Va porization

Gas Deposition Condensation Ionization

Plasma Recombination

See also

Air wel l (condenser)

Bose–Einstein condensate

Cloud physics

DNA condensation

Groasis Waterboxx

Kelvin equation

Liquefaction of gases

Phase diagram
Phase transition

Retrograde condensation

Su rface condenser

References

1. I UPAC, Compendiu m of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version:  (2006–)
"condensation in atmospheric chemistry (https://gold book.iu pac.org/C01235.html) ". doi:10.1351/gold book.C01235 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1351%2Fgold book.C01235)

2. Schiermeier, Quirin (2008-02-28). " 'Rain-making' bacteria fou nd arou nd the world" (https://www.natu re.com/news/20
08/080228/fu l l/news.2008.632.html) . Natu re. Retrieved 2018-06-21.

3. FogQuest - Fog Col lection / Water Harvesting Projects - Welcome (http://www.fogquest.org/) Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20090223071843/http://www.fogquest.org/) 2009-02-23 at the Wayback Machine

4. Warsinger, David M.; Mistry, Karan H.; Nayar, Kishor G.; Chu ng, Hyu ng Won; Lienhard V., John H. (2015). "Entropy
Generation of Desalination Powered by Variable Temperatu re Waste Heat" (https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fe17117530) .
Entropy. 17 (11): 7530–7566. Bibcode:2015Entrp..17.7530W (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015Entrp..17.7530
W) . doi:10.3390/e17117530 (https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fe17117530) .

5. White, F.M. ‘Heat and Mass Transfer’ © 1988 Addison-Wesley Pu blishing Co. pp. 602–604

6. Q&A: Microchannel air-cooled condenser; Heatcraft Worldwide Refrigeration; April 2011; "Archived copy" (http://www.h
eatcraftrpd.com/landing/2011/air-cooled-condenser/res/pdfs/H-ACCMCX-QA.pdf) (PDF). Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20120417093034/http://www.heatcraftrpd.com/landing/2011/air-cooled-condenser/res/pdfs/H-ACCMCX-Q
A.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2012-04-17. Retrieved 2013-02-20.

7. Enright, Ryan (23 Ju l 2014). "Dropwise Condensation on Micro- and Nanostructu red Su rfaces" (https://dspace.mit.edu/b
itstream/1721.1/85005/1/Dropwise%20Condensation%20on%20Micro-%20and%20Nanostructu red%20Su rfaces.pdf)
(PDF). Nanoscale and Microscale Thermophysical Engineering. 18 (3): 223–250. Bibcode:2014N MTE...18..223E (https://
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014N MTE...18..223E) . doi:10.1080/15567265.2013.862889 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F15
567265.2013.862889) . hd l:1721.1/85005 (https://hd l.hand le.net/1721.1%2F85005) . S2CI D 97855214 (https://api.se
manticscholar.org/CorpusI D:97855214) .

8. "Condensation" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131213114908/http://propertyhive.org/condensation/) . Property Hive.

Archived from the original (http://www.wisepropertycare.com/condensation) on 2013-12-13.

9. "Condensation arou nd the house - what causes condensation" (http://www.diydata.com/problem/condensation/conde

nsation.php) . diydata.com. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080113064649/http://www.diydata.com/proble
m/condensation/condensation.php) from the original on 2008-01-13.

Sources
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Last edited 9 days ago by Just plain Bil l