Get Water Out of Air by Creating Condensation

When air is cooled it cannot hold as much moisture as when the air is warm. The water is released in the form of droplets, called condensation. This process can be observed.

What you need:

• pitcher of very cold water
• tray of ice cubes

What you do:

Put the ice cubes into the water then place a pitcher of ice water in a warm room. Observe what happens on the outside of the pitcher. Would covering the pitcher prove that the droplets on the outside did not come from within the container? Why do cold water pipes drip in the summer? Would the amount of moisture that accumulates depend upon the amount of humidity on a particular day? What happens when one blows hot air on a cold window pane? What do you think this condensation process has to do with rain?

Used with permission from Science Activities from A to Z
by Dr. Helen Challand and Elizabeth Brandt with illustrations by Herb Rudd.
Courtesy Digital Atlas of Idaho 2000.