examples of condensation ineveryday life

el_walto · 09-01-2003

Hey sorry for the dumb question but my friend is going nuts trying to find an example of condensation in everyday life not using water. Anyone got any ideas?

*Flying Dutchman* · 09-01-2003

Hmm, I guess one such case could be when water appears on your windshield after you park you car outside on a particularly humid night. Condensation also can occur on cold beverages in hot temperatures.

Someone double check this. I failed most of my science classes

el_walto · 09-01-2003

"not using water"

*dhc014* · 09-01-2003

Water can't condense, but water vapor can!

Any liquid can condense as long as it is subjected to the right Pressure/Temperature... Think of a substance that exists as a liquid at room temperature, then think of a time that that would be a gas...

iamrocket · 09-01-2003

Gases condense to become a star. (at least in theory). Electricity condenses into lightning (though I'm not really sure this is called condensation). Salt ocean water condenses into salt crystals in many places. I could shorten this paragraph alot (that would be condensing it).

*Huzzy* · 09-01-2003

Like dhc014 said, ALMOST ALL vapours can condence (i say almost all because im sure there is 1 or 2 elements that dont conform, like the ones that exists for 10000th of a second and cant be weighed.

Thing is, water has the most resonable condense, and evaporate temps. 100 degrees C it boils and evaporates, a temp that is easy to reach in every day life around the home.

Perhaps chlorine would be the next closest, no idea.

DanDaMan1487 · 09-01-2003

How about common house dust, which is very small, but when builds up, can be a little solid ball or something?

Farad · 09-01-2003

Sorry, but there are no vapors besides water and air in everyday life, and you'll never see air condense.

Prowler · 09-01-2003

Here's an example you can observe of a liquid other than water condensing. Gases when compressed and stored under pressure, butane or propane for example, change to a liquid state. When you release it from its container it changes back into a gaseous state. If you release it rapidly, especially when the ambient temperature is warm, you can see it actually condensing into a vapor. If you had enough of it you could literally cause a cloud, albeit an explosive one. Carbon dioxide gas is another example. Dry ice vapor is readily observable at room temperature. A good visual example is to add dry ice to water. The resulting dry ice fog behaves very differently than water vapor. It's heavier than air, so one can actually pour the fog from the container and see that it behaves like a liquid, although it is a gas in actuality.

biggles77 · 09-01-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by iamrocket
Gases condense to become a star. (at least in theory). Electricity condenses into lightning (though I'm not really sure this is called condensation). Salt ocean water condenses into salt crystals in many places. I could shorten this paragraph alot (that would be condensing it).

You misses one, Milk condenses into a can.

DryBaboon · 09-01-2003

Your fridge or car air conditioning uses condensation:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/refrigerator4.htm
Although this is about condensation under pressure really, and I suspect you may be looking for temperature-related state changes.
I have to say, some of the answers here are either very worrying, or on a different plane of irony altogether.

Anielle · 05-12-2010

Water is the most abundant thing in this world,, We practicaly cant think of anything about condensation without evaporation... If this was a project,, Go tell your teacher that.

*marloyd* · 05-12-2010

anielle if this was a project this student failed because this was 7 years ago when this question was ask.

*marloyd* · 05-12-2010

You got me thinking about that question and there would not be condensation without water ,without water the only condensation would be the word (condensation) and we would not be.

*cholla* · 05-12-2010

If the OP had limited his question to naturally occurring condensation I agree with marloyd.
Since the limitation was "everyday life" then that depends on who's' everyday life.
Almost every gas is condensed for use by humans for some use & someone probably uses that gas everyday .
I guess by technical definition electricity is not condensed because it is not gas condensed to liquid.
But then neither is condensed milk I guess it is misnamed.

**mciahel** · 05-12-2010

Apart from gases, all matter is condensed

Michael

**Wombler** · 05-12-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by marloyd

You got me thinking about that question and there would not be condensation without water ,without water the only condensation would be the word (condensation) and we would not be.

Alcohol is distilled and condensed in a condenser as are petroleum based products or anything else that is refined by distillation.

I prefer drinking the alcohol based products though.

Mercury can be driven off from ore by heating and then condensed to form liquid mercury.

There are loads of examples that don't involve water.

Even more bizarrely some substances don't condense but undergo 'sublimation' and 'deposition' where they change directly from solid to gas then from gas to solid without passing through a liquid phase and this process is used to purify certain crystalline materials such as naphthalene which is used in mothballs.

Wombler

**mciahel** · 05-12-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wombler

Even more bizarrely some substances don't condense but undergo 'sublimation' and 'deposition' where they change directly from solid to gas then from gas to solid without passing through a liquid phase (...)

This is not bizarre, but totally normal
--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_transition

Michael

*AllanDeGroot* · 05-12-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prowler

Here's an example you can observe of a liquid other than water condensing. Gases when compressed and stored under pressure, butane or propane for example, change to a liquid state. When you release it from its container it changes back into a gaseous state. If you release it rapidly, especially when the ambient temperature is warm, you can see it actually condensing into a vapor. If you had enough of it you could literally cause a cloud, albeit an explosive one. Carbon dioxide gas is another example. Dry ice vapor is readily observable at room temperature. A good visual example is to add dry ice to water. The resulting dry ice fog behaves very differently than water vapor. It's heavier than air, so one can actually pour the fog from the container and see that it behaves like a liquid, although it is a gas in actuality.

Dry Ice Vapor (Actually CO2 /Carbon Dioxide) doesn't form the visible cloud you see... it causes water in the air to condense, the CO2 remains invisible.

You can however sometimes see hydrocarbon vapors condense on a fuel filler nozzle while refueling your car in cold weather...

AD

**Wombler** · 05-12-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by mciahel

This is not bizarre, but totally normal
--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_transition

Michael

It's natural but it's a very unusual behaviour under normal atmospheric pressure.

In fact there aren't that many substances that do that under normal conditions.

Iodine, naphthalene and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) are the only ones that I can think of off the top of my head.

Normal ice will do it too but at a very slow rate.

There may be more, but out of the billions of chemical substances and molecular structures that can exist that's really very very few indeed.

Wombler

**Seán** · 06-12-2010

Street lights, which use Low/High Pressure Sodium Lamps. If your street lighting is yellow or peach colour, you've got these.

A low pressure sodium lamp contains neon and argon gas and solid sodium metal. When switched on, the control gear ignites the arc in neon/argon gas mixture, giving that initial red glow. As the bulb warms up, the sodium metal vapourises and the arc turns yellow.

A similar process happens within High Pressure Sodium lamps. These HPS bulbs use a Xenon gas, like that in camera flashes, which gives it a white glow when first switched on. The higher pressure along with the addition of mercury in the arc tube increases the colour spectrum and thus the ability to see different colours instead of black & yellow.

As the sky brightens up at dawn, the street lights switch off and the bulbs cool down. In doing so, the sodium vapour cools, condenses and then solidifies as solid sodium metal.

*marloyd* · 06-12-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by el_walto

Hey sorry for the dumb question but my friend is going nuts trying to find an example of condensation in everyday life not using water. Anyone got any ideas?

El walto has come up with a good debatable subject, I liked sean comment the best with the vapor light idea it's sealed unit.With a gas inside.And propane tanks are filled with air and gas but doesn't air have a percent of moisture in it..I'm not smart enough for this question and should keep nose out of it so I vote for sean's answer for best exsample.

*Zathros* · 06-12-2010

Does Jelly count? Only picture I could find of this secretive process.

*marloyd* · 14-12-2010

Condensation has a lot of down falls like this one ( to much salt)

*Zathros* · 16-12-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by marloyd

Condensation has a lot of down falls like this one ( to much salt)

Oh my, scientific proof of beer goggles!!

09-01-2003	#1
el_walto CD Freaks Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 93	examples of condensation ineveryday life Hey sorry for the dumb question but my friend is going nuts trying to find an example of condensation in everyday life not using water. Anyone got any ideas? Last edited by el_walto; 09-01-2003 at 03:56.

09-01-2003	#2
Flying Dutchman CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NYC / Binghamton Posts: 1,369	Hmm, I guess one such case could be when water appears on your windshield after you park you car outside on a particularly humid night. Condensation also can occur on cold beverages in hot temperatures. Someone double check this. I failed most of my science classes __________________ I'm not spamming, I'm trying to help people And the CDFreaks living room has reached a new low...

09-01-2003	#4
dhc014 Retired Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 4,369	Water can't condense, but water vapor can! Any liquid can condense as long as it is subjected to the right Pressure/Temperature... Think of a substance that exists as a liquid at room temperature, then think of a time that that would be a gas... __________________ .:: Dave \| http://dhc014.rpc1.org ::.

09-01-2003	#8
Farad CD Freaks Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: IL or SC, USA Posts: 240	Sorry, but there are no vapors besides water and air in everyday life, and you'll never see air condense. __________________ The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all comprehensible. -Einstein LTR-52246S

09-01-2003	#11
DryBaboon CD Freaks Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: CHINA Posts: 244	Your fridge or car air conditioning uses condensation: http://www.howstuffworks.com/refrigerator4.htm Although this is about condensation under pressure really, and I suspect you may be looking for temperature-related state changes. I have to say, some of the answers here are either very worrying, or on a different plane of irony altogether. __________________ ________________________ Four cheers for me. ________________________

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09-01-2003	#5
iamrocket Dedicated DoMi groupie Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: location, location Posts: 431	Gases condense to become a star. (at least in theory). Electricity condenses into lightning (though I'm not really sure this is called condensation). Salt ocean water condenses into salt crystals in many places. I could shorten this paragraph alot (that would be condensing it).

09-01-2003	#6
Huzzy Resigned Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 1,099	Like dhc014 said, ALMOST ALL vapours can condence (i say almost all because im sure there is 1 or 2 elements that dont conform, like the ones that exists for 10000th of a second and cant be weighed. Thing is, water has the most resonable condense, and evaporate temps. 100 degrees C it boils and evaporates, a temp that is easy to reach in every day life around the home. Perhaps chlorine would be the next closest, no idea.

09-01-2003	#7
DanDaMan1487 CD Freaks Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 634	How about common house dust, which is very small, but when builds up, can be a little solid ball or something?

09-01-2003	#9
Prowler MyCE Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 160	Here's an example you can observe of a liquid other than water condensing. Gases when compressed and stored under pressure, butane or propane for example, change to a liquid state. When you release it from its container it changes back into a gaseous state. If you release it rapidly, especially when the ambient temperature is warm, you can see it actually condensing into a vapor. If you had enough of it you could literally cause a cloud, albeit an explosive one. Carbon dioxide gas is another example. Dry ice vapor is readily observable at room temperature. A good visual example is to add dry ice to water. The resulting dry ice fog behaves very differently than water vapor. It's heavier than air, so one can actually pour the fog from the container and see that it behaves like a liquid, although it is a gas in actuality.

05-12-2010	#12
Anielle New Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 1	Re: examples of condensation ineveryday life Water is the most abundant thing in this world,, We practicaly cant think of anything about condensation without evaporation... If this was a project,, Go tell your teacher that.

05-12-2010	#13
marloyd MyCE Resident Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Michigan ,usa Posts: 7,380	Re: examples of condensation ineveryday life anielle if this was a project this student failed because this was 7 years ago when this question was ask.

05-12-2010	#15
cholla MyCE Resident Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Amarillo ,Texas Posts: 5,366	Re: examples of condensation ineveryday life If the OP had limited his question to naturally occurring condensation I agree with marloyd. Since the limitation was "everyday life" then that depends on who's' everyday life. Almost every gas is condensed for use by humans for some use & someone probably uses that gas everyday . I guess by technical definition electricity is not condensed because it is not gas condensed to liquid. But then neither is condensed milk I guess it is misnamed. __________________ cholla pronounced ˈchȯi-yə click on cholla to hear

05-12-2010	#16
mciahel Senior Moderator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 17,048	Re: examples of condensation ineveryday life Apart from gases, all matter is condensed Michael __________________ Mini-FAQ for Samsung DVD writers * HOWTO Flash Firmware of a Samsung (TSST) DVD writer How to attach disc quality scans

06-12-2010	#21
Seán Senior Administrator & Reviewer Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Republic of Ireland (North West) Posts: 9,654	Street lights, which use Low/High Pressure Sodium Lamps. If your street lighting is yellow or peach colour, you've got these. A low pressure sodium lamp contains neon and argon gas and solid sodium metal. When switched on, the control gear ignites the arc in neon/argon gas mixture, giving that initial red glow. As the bulb warms up, the sodium metal vapourises and the arc turns yellow. A similar process happens within High Pressure Sodium lamps. These HPS bulbs use a Xenon gas, like that in camera flashes, which gives it a white glow when first switched on. The higher pressure along with the addition of mercury in the arc tube increases the colour spectrum and thus the ability to see different colours instead of black & yellow. As the sky brightens up at dawn, the street lights switch off and the bulbs cool down. In doing so, the sodium vapour cools, condenses and then solidifies as solid sodium metal.

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