Condensation Is – You must have seen the dew clinging to the leaves early in the morning. The morning dew becomes one of the beautiful sights that is pleasant to see. Especially if you live in the countryside that still has many gardens, you will find a lot of morning dew sticking to the leaves.
When we were children, we often played with the dew on the leaves, apart from its unique appearance, the morning dew also felt cooler and clearer than the water in the bathroom let alone the teapot in the kitchen. Most children usually try to transfer this dew to the palm without breaking it. Unfortunately, because dew is basically water, the dew that was round can break easily.
Well, speaking of morning dew, have you ever wondered, where do these little dews come from? So this is how morning dew appears because of the condensation process done by nature.
Condensation? You must be very unfamiliar with this term! So, condensation is not a popular term, so very few people know about it.
In fact, even those who have studied natural science may have forgotten this term, or perhaps they have never studied condensation at all?
If you are one of those people who don’t understand condensation yet, you are in luck because this time we will discuss it. So the question is, what is condensation? Let’s see the following explanation about condensation!
Definition of Condensation
As mentioned before, condensation is a less popular term in many people’s ears. However, even though the name is less popular, in fact we often see the result of the condensation process in everyday life, namely embuni.
Condensation is the change of substance from a gas to a liquid. If you already know what evaporation is, you must realize that condensation is the opposite of the evaporation process. The reason is that, if processed, evaporation of water will turn into gas, then condensation is the opposite or turning gas into water.
In addition to being called condensation, this process is also often called condensation. Why is it called that? This is because the end result of the condensation process has the form of water droplets that we commonly know as dew.
Just like evaporation, condensation is also a natural process and not man-made. Generally, the condensation process occurs at night, but you can also observe this process in some specific ways.
Causes of Condensation
Condensation is the process of changing from a gas to a liquid. This natural process occurs due to two things, namely water vapor passing through a colder surface and when water vapor experiences pressure or compression.
1. Water Vapor Passes Over a Cooler Surface
Condensation occurs when water vapor passes over a surface that is cooler than the dew point. The dew point itself is the temperature at which the condensation process occurs.
In this case, the morning dew is one example of the condensation process. So compared to the day, the temperature at night is much colder, so the vapor that was in the form of gas then cools because the night temperature is much lower than the day, the vapor that cools then forms the dew that we see the next morning.
These dews can usually be easily found on the grass or foliage around the house. The colder the temperature at night, the more water vapor will condense and eventually turn into morning dew.
2. When water vapor experiences pressure or compression
In the second condition, condensation can occur when water vapor experiences pressure or compression. When the vapor experiences pressure, then the vapor will change back to liquid form. For example, when you pour hot water into a glass, then cover it, the water vapor that comes out of the hot water will be pressurized and cannot escape from the glass lid until it produces water droplets that stick to the surface of the glass lid.
Another example of other condensation is a soda drink glass. When removed from the refrigerator, the outside of the can will cool down and cause dew to appear on the surface of the can, why can that happen?
Such things can happen because the temperature outside the refrigerator is much warmer than inside. The cold vapor trapped inside the can eventually condenses, and forms water droplets on the surface of the can. Basically, things like that don’t only happen to soda drinks, but can also happen to various containers or bottles that are kept in the fridge, then taken out at room temperature.
Factors That Cause Condensation
Earlier we have learned about condensation, so we know that condensation is a change from gas to liquid and is the opposite of evaporation. We also know that condensation is caused by two things, namely (1) gas passing through a colder surface and (20) when the gas receives compression or pressure.
In addition to the cause, the occurrence of condensation is also triggered by three factors. What factors?
1. Air humidity in a room
Air humidity is one of the main factors in the condensation process. This process itself only occurs when the air in the room is unable to withstand the level of humidity.
One example is if you have a house with a cement floor that is already smooth, you will find that the floor will be a little wet in certain mornings. Usually this happens when the weather and temperature the night before is very cold from the temperature in normal nights.
2. Low Air Temperature
After the air humidity in a room, another factor that triggers the condensation process is the air temperature. As previously discussed, condensation occurs when a gas in the form of water vapor passes over a surface with a low temperature.
From the explanation it can be concluded that air temperature plays an important role in the condensation process. The colder the temperature of a place or surface, the more water vapor will condense. However, when the temperature rises, the evaporation process will occur, where the water will change into a gas and rise into the atmosphere.
3. Poor Air Vents
Air vents or air vents are one of the things that must be present in the house and should be in every room. The presence of vents is not only for aesthetics or to make the room look good, but more than that, the presence of ventilation also serves as an entrance and exit for air.
With ventilation, the air can go in and out easily and does not make the room feel stuffy. In addition, ventilation is made to prevent condensation in the room.
Condensation in the room can occur because the gas in the air is trapped in the room, when night comes and the temperature drops or drops, the gas then undergoes a process of condensation and makes the floor and some parts of the room wet.
Types of Condensation
Further information about condensation is the types. The condensation process sounds simple, but this process is actually divided into several types. The type of condensation itself is divided into two, namely exterior condensation and interior condensation. More details will be explained below.
1. Exterior Condensation
The first type of condensation is exterior condensation. What is exterior condensation? As the name suggests, exterior condensation is condensation that occurs outdoors. This type of condensation usually occurs when the surface temperature is below the dew point or even colder than that.
Usually this condensation occurs when gas or steam touches the surface of the glass. As we know that materials such as glass, iron, and similar materials can absorb heat and cold. When the temperature drops, the glass surface will become very cold and even freeze, so that when the steam touches the glass surface, the exterior condensation process will occur afterwards.
Just like condensation that occurs in dew on foliage, exterior condensation also usually occurs at night. It usually happens when the temperature during the day is very hot, but then drops when the night comes.
2. Interior Condensation
The opposite of exterior condensation that makes the glass fog up from the outside, interior condensation occurs in closed spaces. The process of interior condensation can occur when the ventilation in a room is very poor or even has no vents at all.
The more closed a room is, the more air will be trapped and unable to escape. It was aggravated by the very cold temperature outside. As a result, condensation occurs more and more. Condensation will not only wet the window glass, but also the floor and some other parts of the room.
Just like exterior condensation, interior condensation also happens most at night when the temperature drops. The condensation process can also occur during the day when it rains or snows all day, so the temperature becomes very cold.
Result from the Condensation Process
In addition to being divided into two types, the result of the condensation process is divided into several forms. Although we cannot see the condensation process, we can easily see the result of the condensation process that occurs every day. So what is the result of this condensation?
1. Dew
Dew becomes one of the results of the simplest condensation process. When we see the dew on the leaves and grass in the morning, we will wonder where all this dew comes from?
So, as already mentioned, dew is the result of condensation that occurs at night. Dew itself appears when vapor in the earth’s atmospheric layer condenses on a cold surface, then the vapor will condense on leaves, grass, or even glass in a building.
2. Fog
Fog is one of the rare phenomena that we rarely see. This actually makes sense considering that most of us live in urban areas that are full of pollution and lack trees. However, if you have the opportunity to camp in the open or take a vacation in the countryside, you can still see the fog that envelops the region. Fog most often appears in the morning, or after rain.
Fog is also a result of the condensation process. After it rains or after the night ends, the water vapor will form super small droplets in the air. These super small droplets are then known as fog.
However, because there are so many of them, these super tiny droplets end up blocking the line of sight. The more super small water droplets in the air, the more our visibility is obstructed.
Although it looks beautiful, the presence of fog sometimes also makes someone trapped in danger. More than once or twice, a climber got lost because his view was obstructed by thick fog, so that he had difficulty taking the right path. Not only the climbers, the fog also sometimes disturbs the users of two or four-wheeled vehicles, so it can cause accidents.
Fortunately, most fog is also short-lived. As the sun begins to rise, the fog will slowly disappear. This is because the presence of the sun makes the temperature rise and the super mini water droplets evaporate again and finally disappear.
3. Frozen Dew
If fog alone is rare, then the phenomenon of frost is much rarer, especially for those of us who live in a country with a tropical climate and warm temperature like Indonesia.
For those of you who don’t have a shadow at all, frost is a thin layer of ice that sticks to a solid surface. If you have heard about the phenomenon of plants freezing in Dieng during the summer period, well that is the clear picture.
Similar to fog and dew, frost is also created from the process of condensation. This process occurs because the dew point is colder than the freezing point. Because of this, the water vapor that should change form into normal dew, instead freezes into super small ice particles.
Impact of Condensation
If you look at the results of the condensation process, this process seems to be harmless. Some of the results of the condensation process such as fog, dew, and frost even look so beautiful. But who would have thought that the condensation process could also have a bad impact and harm humans.
1. Can Cause Short Circuit
In populated areas, condensation can cause a short circuit in the electric current which, if left unchecked, will trigger a large fire that can harm many people. Even a short circuit can also cause a fire, thus harming the people and the surrounding environment.
2. Thwarting Harvest Time
In summer, the temperature in the Dieng Plateau at night will drop to minus point. This makes the grass and some plants covered with ice and frozen. If this phenomenon only happens once or twice, maybe the consequences will not be too fatal. The problem is, this phenomenon happens many times and causes the crops to rot until finally the harvest fails and harms the farmers who have worked hard to plant and take care of their crops.
Conclusion
Well that’s the complete explanation about condensation. Not only the meaning, but also the form, the process of occurrence, the trigger factor, the type of condensation, until the impact. Although condensation can trigger problems, but condensation is a natural process that occurs naturally and is difficult to stop by humans.
Basically, condensation is part of the water cycle and is also the opposite of the evaporation process. This process is very important for our earth, and that means it is also important for the living things that live on its surface. Although condensation can be harmful, but generally condensation has benefits for everyday life.