Difference between Evaporation and Condensation-Evaporation vs Condensation

written by Adeel Abbas

The key difference between evaporation and condensation is the transformation of a liquid into a gas (evaporation) versus the transformation of a gas into a liquid (condensation).

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.

---

Related Articles

• 8 Differences between alkali and base
• 7 differences between Rust and corrosion
• Difference between oils and fats

---

Evaporation VS 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.

Here’s a table summarizing the differences between evaporation and condensation:

Aspect	Evaporation	Condensation
Process	Liquid turning into a gas	Gas turning into a liquid
Cause	Heating the liquid	Heating the gas
Molecule Transformation	Liquid molecules break free and turn into a gas	Gas molecules turn back into a liquid
Continuity	Continuous cycle	Not continuous
Heat Transfer	Releases heat	Absorbs heat
Location	Happens on the surface of the liquid	Happens inside the liquid
Speed	Faster process	Slower process
Vapor Pressure	Liquid vapor pressure is higher than atmospheric pressure	Gas vapor pressure is higher than atmospheric pressure
State of Water Molecules	Water molecules are in the gas phase	Water molecules are in the liquid phase
Temperature Dependency	Occurs at any temperature	Only occurs at a certain temperature
Energy Addition Effect	More energy causes liquid to evaporate	N/A
Reversibility	Not reversible	Reversible
Applicability to Gases/Liquids	Only applicable to liquids	Applicable to any kind of gas

FAQs