Condensation is the water which results from the conversion of water vapour in the atmosphere.
The air which surrounds us in our homes always contains water vapour, which is usually invisible. A typical example is the steam cloud from a kettle, which rapidly becomes invisible – it has in fact been absorbed into the atmosphere.
The warmer the air, the more water vapour it can hold – but there is a limit to the amount it can hold for a given temperature. When that limit is reached, the air is said to be “saturated”. When saturated air comes into contact with a surface which is at a lower temperature than itself, the air is chilled at the point of contact and sheds its surplus water vapour on that surface – initially in the form of a mist and, if excessive, eventually in the form of droplets of moisture. An example of this is when a person breathes onto a mirror: condensation occurs because the exhaled air is saturated and its temperature is higher than that of the mirror (which is at room temperature).
