Difference between Evaporation and Condensation

Nature has its own way of providing relief to the Earth. There are many processes through which the weather cycle, rain cycle changes.

The weather change depends upon the climate. The climate is the result of people's activities. For instance, the smoke released by the industries leads to several climate changes like delays in seasons, smog, breathing problems, global warming, etc. The exploitation done to nature by man leads to disasters. Over-exploitation of anything leads to chaos. Well, today, we are going to discuss about two significant topics, i.e., evaporation and condensation. Some people might mistake them for being the same. But it is not so. So, let us first look at the meanings of these terms, followed by their differences.

Evaporation

Evaporation is defined as the process in which a liquid or gas is transformed into water. The liquid or solid gets vaporized. In a water cycle, evaporation takes place when the sunlight tends to warm the surface water. Due to the heat, the molecules under the water tend to move at a faster rate. These molecules escape from the water in the form of a gas. Evaporation is a kind of vaporization through which a solid or liquid turns into water vapors. For instance, when we spray deodorant/ perfume on our bodies, there is an instant cooling sensation. This cooling sensation is called as evaporation. Acetone is considered to give an instant cooling sensation apart from other perfumes. This is so because the evaporation rate of acetone is relatively higher than the deodorant. It is interesting to note that evaporation always takes place on the water's surface. Now, you must be wondering as to how evaporation can lead to cooling. Well, the cooling sensations naturally occur during evaporation. This happens because, in order to transform the state, the matter has to lose/ gain its energy. For instance, we sweat so that our bodies can have a cooler temperature. The sweat from our body evaporates, resulting in the reduction of body temperature.

Similarly, water is stored in the earthen pots so that it can remain cool. Earthen pot serves as a surface area for evaporation to take place. Thus, evaporation takes place when the matter gains or loses its energy to become vapor.

Condensation

Condensation is defined as the process wherein the state of the matter changes from gas to liquid form. Condensation is completely opposite to evaporation. Condensation takes place when two molecules are combined to form one molecule. For instance, when water present in the air comes in contact with any cold surface, it tends to form water droplets. This is called as condensation. One of the common examples of condensation is the formation of clouds. When the water droplets are mixed with the clouds above, they become quite heavy. This leads to rain. The rainy season is a prominent example of condensation. Condensation happens in two significant ways, i.e. when the air becomes so cool that it turns into water droplets or when the air becomes saturated so much so that it cannot hold water any longer. There are four prominent kinds of condensation, i.e., clouds, frost, dew, and fog. Dew is seen early in the morning in the grass; clouds are formed when the water droplets mixe with the clouds, fog is majorly seen in the cold climate, etc. Every kind of condensation is seen in one way or the other. Now, there are some contrasting points between evaporation and condensation. So, let us have a look at them.

So, these are some of the contrasting points between evaporation and condensation. Evaporation and condensation are essential processes. The water cycle majorly depends upon these processes.

The weather, climates, and seasons depend upon the process of evaporation and condensation. Thus, both these processes are useful in many ways.