What is condensation how does it differ from evaporation Why is it a warming process?

written by Adeel Abbas

When it comes to the difference between evaporation and condensation, it’s important to understand the different processes involved in each. Evaporation is the process of a liquid turning into a gas, while condensation is the process of gas turning into a liquid. In order to understand these processes better, let’s use water as an example.

When water is heated, it starts to evaporate. This means that the water molecules are breaking free from the liquid and turning into a gas. The hotter the water is, the more quickly it will evaporate. When all of the water has evaporated, what’s left is steam.

Once the steam is heated, it will begin to condense. This means that the gas will turn back into a liquid. Like when it’s cooling down when the temperature of the steam decreases it will also start to condense. When all of the steam has condensed, what’s left is water again. The process of evaporation and condensation is a cycle that will continuously repeat itself.

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14 Difference between Evaporation and Condensation

  1. The main difference between evaporation and condensation is that evaporation is the process of a liquid turning into a gas, while condensation is the process of a gas turning into a liquid.
  2. Evaporation takes place when the liquid is heated, while condensation takes place when the gas is heated.
  3. Evaporation happens when the molecules break free from the liquid and turn into a gas, while condensation happens when the gas turns back into a liquid.
  4. Evaporation is a continuous cycle, while condensation is not.
  5. The process of evaporation releases heat, while the process of condensation absorbs heat.
  6. Evaporation happens on the surface of the liquid, while condensation happens inside the liquid.
  7. Evaporation is a faster process than condensation.
  8. Evaporation occurs when the vapor pressure of the liquid is higher than the atmospheric pressure, while condensation occurs when the vapor pressure of the gas is higher than the atmospheric pressure.
  9. The water molecules in evaporation are in the gas phase, while the water molecules in condensation are in the liquid phase.
  10. Temperature is a factor when it comes to evaporation, but not when it comes to condensation.
  11. Evaporation happens at any temperature, while condensation only happens at a certain temperature.
  12. If you add more energy into the system during the condensation process, it will cause the liquid to evaporate.
  13. Condensation is a reversible process, while evaporation is not.
  14. Condensation can happen with any kind of gas, while evaporation can only happen with a liquid.

FAQs

What is the difference between evaporation and boiling?

Evaporation is the process of a liquid turning into a gas, while boiling is the process of a liquid turning into a vapor. Evaporation takes place when the liquid is heated, while boiling takes place when the liquid is heated to the point where it turns into a vapor.

Does evaporation take place on the surface of the liquid?

Evaporation does not require the molecules to break free from the surface of the liquid. Instead, it’s a process that takes place throughout the entire volume of water until all of it has evaporated.

How is evaporation different than boiling?

Boiling is the process of a liquid turning into a vapor, while evaporation is the process of a liquid turning into a gas. Evaporation takes place when the liquid is heated, while boiling takes place when the liquid is heated to the point where it turns into a vapor. Evaporation happens when the molecules break free from the liquid and turn into a gas, while boiling happens when the liquid turns into a vapor.

How is evaporation different from condensation?

Evaporation is the process of a liquid turning into a gas, while condensation is the process of gas turning into a liquid. Evaporation takes place when the liquid is heated, while condensation takes place when the gas is heated. Evaporation happens when the molecules break free from the liquid and turn into a gas, while condensation happens when the gas turns back into a liquid.

Is evaporation a reversible process?

Evaporation is not a reversible process. Once the liquid has turned into a gas, it has become a part of the air, and it cannot return back to its liquid state.

Condensation and evaporation are two terms that appear early on and often when learning about weather processes. They are essential to understanding how water ― which is always present (in some form) in the atmosphere ― behaves.

Condensation is the process by which water residing in the air changes from water vapor (a gas) to liquid water. This happens when the water vapor is cooled to the dew point temperature, which leads to saturation.

Anytime you have warm air rising up into the atmosphere, you can expect condensation to eventually occur. There are also many examples of condensation in our daily lives, such as the formation of water droplets on the outside of a cold drink. (When the cold drink is left sitting on a table, the moisture (water vapor) in the room's air comes in contact with the cold bottle or glass, cools, and condenses on the drink's outside.)

You'll often hear condensation called a "warming process," which can be confusing since condensation has to do with cooling. While condensation does cool the air inside of the air parcel, in order for that cooling to occur, that parcel must release heat into the surrounding environment. Thus, when speaking about the effect of condensation on the overall atmosphere, it warms it. Here's how it works:
Remember from chemistry class that molecules in a gas are energetic and move very fast, while those in a liquid move slower. In order for condensation to happen, the water vapor molecules must release energy so that they can slow their movement. (This energy is hidden and is therefore called latent heat.)

A number of well-known weather phenomenon are caused by condensation, including:

The opposite of condensation is evaporation. Evaporation is the process of changing liquid water into water vapor (a gas). It transports water from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere.

(It should be noted that solids, like ice, can also evaporate or be transformed directly into a gas without first becoming a liquid. In meteorology, this is called sublimation.)

For water molecules to go from a liquid to an energized gaseous state, they must first absorb heat energy. They do this by colliding with other water molecules.

Evaporation is called a "cooling process" because it removes heat from the surrounding air. Evaporation in the atmosphere is a crucial step in the water cycle. Water on Earth's surface will evaporate into the atmosphere as energy is absorbed by liquid water. Water molecules that exist in the liquid phase are free-flowing and in no particular fixed position. Once energy is added to water by heat from the sun, the bonds between the water molecules gain kinetic energy or energy in motion. They then escape the surface of the liquid and become a gas (water vapor), which then rises into the atmosphere.

This process of water evaporating from the surface of the Earth happens continually and continually transports water vapor into the air. The rate of evaporation depends on air temperature, wind speed, cloudiness.

Evaporation is responsible for several weather phenomena, including humidity and clouds.