Condensation is one of the processes of the hydrological cycle of the earth’s atmosphere. When water from oceans, lakes, rivers and other water bodies evaporates, it goes upwards into the atmosphere in the form of water vapour and as it cools down and turns back into liquid form, this process is called condensation. Condensation is a very important step in the water cycle as it helps in the formation of clouds. 

There are two ways in which condensation can happen- 

• The water vapour is cooled to its dew point
• The air becomes so saturated with the amount of water vapour that it becomes impossible to hold any more amount in it

Precipitation is defined as the return of solid or liquid particles on the earth’s surface in any form. Precipitation occurs when water in either solid or liquid form falls on the earth. The solid and liquid particles may be called rain, snow, drizzle, snow pellets, crystals, hail storms.

Factors Affecting Condensation

Condensation can occur on any surface and in any kind of environment. It can also occur inside our homes. When condensation occurs at our homes, three main factors are involved in the process:-

• The humidity of the air inside- When the air inside the house cannot hold any more amount of water vapour, condensation happens
• Lower temperature- The humid air comes into contact with the cold surfaces present inside the house
• Poor ventilation- If there is no room for the air currents to flow, the humidity accumulates inside the house leading to increased condensation

What is Dew Point?

Dew point is the exact temperature when the condensation happens. Dew is mainly a condensed form of water present in the atmosphere. When warm air comes into contact with any cold surface, it automatically reaches its dew point and the air condenses and may leave traces of water droplets on the surfaces. 

What Are The Forms of Condensation?

Dew- When the condensation of water vapour happens close to the earth’s surface, tiny droplets of water are formed which are called dew

Frost- This condition occurs when the air at the ground level is highly cooled below the freezing temperature

Fog- This condition occurs when water vapour present in the atmosphere condenses on any nuclei near the earth’s surface leading to the formation of tiny water droplets

Clouds- These are formed when several tiny droplets of water combine together

What is Precipitation?

Precipitation is the process in which water falls back to the earth’s surface from the atmosphere. Commonly precipitation is understood as rainfall but there can be various other forms too such as – rain, snow, sleet, hail, sun shower, etc. Precipitation occurs when the water vapour in the air cools down and gets converted into liquid or ice form. The amount of precipitation is always dependent on the amount of water vapour present in the atmosphere as well as the temperature of the air. 

Difference between Precipitation and Condensation 

There are a number of differences between condensation and precipitation:-

• Condensation is the process of cooling down of water vapour present in the air and precipitation is the next phase of this process where the condensed water drops down to the earth’s surface from the atmosphere
• Condensation can occur only when the air is cooled down to its dew point while precipitation is not dependent on the dew point and can occur anytime
• Forms of condensation are- fog, clouds, dew, frost while the forms of precipitation are -rain, snow, hail, pellets, drizzle

What is the Importance of Condensation?

Condensation is important for the survival of life forms on earth in the following manner:-

1. Water in its liquid form attracts other water molecules. When the air is heated, these water molecules move rapidly and lose some of their mass, which makes them rise above the ground. As the air cools, these water molecules attract each other again and become denser in mass and fall as rain. If the water molecules do not condense, they would float away and no water would be available to the different life forms.
2. Condensation is extremely important to the environment as humans need food for survival and these foods are extracted from plants. Plants on the other hand, need water for the extraction of minerals and other nutrients from the soil. It is therefore very necessary for condensation to occur leading to precipitation. 

The phenomena called precipitation played a great importance in climate science, the quantity and seasonality of precipitation determines the type of climate, which will develop in a region. The main distinction in a rainforest and a hot desert depends upon the quantity of precipitation it gets. 

Types

Condensation is divided into two types:

Intramolecular condensation: Intramolecular condensation is a reaction that occurs when two functional groups of the same molecule react to eliminate another simple molecule.

Intermolecular Condensation: Intermolecular condensation is the condensation reaction between two molecules of the same or distinct substances.

Precipitation is divided into two types:

Cyclonic precipitation- A cyclone is formed at a region of lower pressure and cyclonic precipitation occurs due to the lifting of the moist air mass due to the difference in pressures. These are of two types- 

Frontal precipitation- occurs when hot air expands near the frontal surface

Non-frontal precipitation – occurs due to the movement of a cold moist air mass.

Convective precipitation

Convectional rain is formed from warm moist air that rises over the ground, condenses, and precipitates.

Orographic precipitation

Orographic rain occurs when warm moist air rises quite high over mountain ranges and while doing so, it gets cooled and from orographic clouds. These orographic clouds precipitate later on over the mountains.

Conclusion

Condensation is an essential phenomenon for the maintenance of the earth’s atmosphere. All the life processes need condensation as well as the other processes for their survival. Condensation maintains the ecosystem and keeps a check on the flow of energy in it. However, on the other hand Precipitation is also an important phenomena that is integral to the survival of various life forms. The amount of precipitation varies widely and is one of the greatest blessings for the environment