03/01/2017

CondensationWikipedia

Condensation
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Condensationisthechangeofthephysicalstateofmatterfromgasphase
intoliquidphase,andisthereverseofevaporation.Thewordmostoften
referstothewatercycle.[1]Itcanalsobedefinedasthechangeinthestate
ofwatervapourtoliquidwaterwhenincontactwithaliquidorsolid
surfaceorcloudcondensationnucleiwithintheatmosphere.Whenthe
transitionhappensfromthegaseousphaseintothesolidphasedirectly,the
changeiscalleddeposition(ordesublimation,seeSublimation(phase
transition)).

Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Condensationforminginthelow
pressurezoneabovethewingofan
aircraftduetoadiabaticexpansion

Initiation
Reversibilityscenarios
Mostcommonscenarios
Howcondensationismeasured
Applicationsofcondensation
Biologicaladaptation
Condensationinbuildingconstruction
Seealso
References

Initiation
Condensationisinitiatedbytheformationofatomic/molecularclustersofthatspecieswithinitsgaseousvolume
likeraindroporsnowflakeformationwithincloudsoratthecontactbetweensuchgaseousphaseandaliquidor
solidsurface.

Reversibilityscenarios
Afewdistinctreversibilityscenariosemergeherewithrespecttothenatureofthesurface.
absorptionintothesurfaceofaliquid(eitherofthesamesubstanceoroneofitssolvents)isreversibleas
evaporation.[1]
adsorption(asdewdroplets)ontosolidsurfaceatpressuresandtemperatureshigherthanthespecies'triple
pointalsoreversibleasevaporation.
adsorptionontosolidsurface(assupplementallayersofsolid)atpressuresandtemperatureslowerthanthe
species'triplepointisreversibleassublimation.

Mostcommonscenarios
Condensationcommonlyoccurswhenavaporiscooledand/orcompressedtoitssaturationlimitwhenthe
moleculardensityinthegasphasereachesitsmaximalthreshold.Vaporcoolingandcompressingequipmentthat
collectscondensedliquidsiscalleda"condenser".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condensation

1/3

03/01/2017

CondensationWikipedia

Howcondensationismeasured
Psychrometrymeasurestheratesofcondensationthroughevaporationintotheairmoistureatvariousatmospheric
pressuresandtemperatures.Wateristheproductofitsvaporcondensationcondensationistheprocessofsuch
phaseconversion.

Applicationsofcondensation
Condensationisacrucialcomponentofdistillation,animportantlaboratoryandindustrialchemistryapplication.
Becausecondensationisanaturallyoccurringphenomenon,itcanoftenbeusedtogeneratewaterinlarge
quantitiesforhumanuse.Manystructuresaremadesolelyforthepurposeofcollectingwaterfromcondensation,
suchasairwellsandfogfences.Suchsystemscanoftenbeusedtoretainsoilmoistureinareaswhereactive
desertificationisoccurringsomuchsothatsomeorganizationseducatepeoplelivinginaffectedareasabout
watercondenserstohelpthemdealeffectivelywiththesituation.[2]
Itisalsoacrucialprocessinformingparticletracksinacloudchamber.Inthiscase,ionsproducedbyanincident
particleactasnucleationcentersforthecondensationofthevaporproducingthevisible"cloud"trails.
Furthermore,condensationisacriticalstepinmanyindustrialprocesses,suchaspowergeneration,water
desalination,thermalmanagement,refrigeration,andairconditioning.[3]

Biologicaladaptation
Numerouslivingbeingsusewatermadeaccessiblebycondensation.AfewexamplesofthesearetheAustralian
ThornyDevil,thedarklingbeetlesoftheNamibiancoast,andtheCoastRedwoodsoftheWestCoastoftheUnited
States.

Condensationinbuildingconstruction
Condensationinbuildingconstructionisanunwantedphenomenonasit
maycausedampness,moldhealthissues,woodrot,corrosion,weakening
ofmortarandmasonrywalls,andenergypenaltiesduetoincreasedheat
transfer.Toalleviatetheseissues,theindoorairhumidityneedstobe
lowered,orairventilationinthebuildingneedstobeimproved.Thiscanbe
doneinanumberofways,forexampleopeningwindows,turningon
extractorfans,usingdehumidifiers,dryingclothesoutsideandcovering
potsandpanswhilstcooking.Airconditioningorventilationsystemscan
beinstalledthathelpremovemoisturefromtheair,andmoveair
throughoutabuilding.[4]Theamountofwatervapourthatcanbestoredin
Condensationonawindowduringa
theaircanbeincreasedsimplybyincreasingthetemperature.[4]However,
rainshower.
thiscanbeadoubleedgedswordasmostcondensationinthehomeoccurs
whenwarm,moistureheavyaircomesintocontactwithacoolsurface.As
theairiscooled,itcannolongerholdasmuchwatervapour.Thisleadstodepositionofwateronthecoolsurface.
Thisisveryapparentwhencentralheatingisusedincombinationwithsingleglazedwindowsinwinter.
Interstructurecondensationmaybecausedbythermalbridges,insufficientorlackinginsulation,dampproofingor
insulatedglazing.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condensation

2/3

03/01/2017

CondensationWikipedia

Seealso
Airwell(condenser)
BoseEinsteincondensate
Cloudphysics
Condenser(heattransfer)
DNAcondensation
Kelvinequation
Phasediagram
Phasetransition
Retrogradecondensation
Surfacecondenser
GroasisWaterboxx
Liquefactionofgases

References
1.IUPAC,CompendiumofChemicalTerminology,2nded.
(the"GoldBook")(1997).Onlinecorrectedversion:
(2006)"condensationinatmosphericchemistry(htt
p://goldbook.iupac.org/C01235.html)".
2.FogQuestFogCollection/WaterHarvestingProjects
Welcome(http://www.fogquest.org/)

3.Enright,Ryan(23Jul2014)."DropwiseCondensation
onMicroandNanostructuredSurfaces".Nanoscale
andMicroscaleThermophysicalEngineering.18(3).
doi:10.1080/15567265.2013.862889.
4."Condensation".PropertyHive.Archivedfromthe
originalon20131213.
5."Condensationaroundthehousewhatcauses
condensation".diydata.com.

3.Enright,Ryan(23Jul2014)."DropwiseCondensation

Sources

"Condensationprinciples(Picture)".
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Condensation&oldid=756263109"
Categories: Phasetransitions
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon23December2016,at01:51.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmayapply.
Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisaregisteredtrademark
oftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condensation

3/3