Book 1, Question 137 · Video
Why Do Cold Glasses Get Wet? The Water Comes From the Air!
Where does the water on a cold glass come from? Air holds invisible water vapor, and a cold glass cools the air right beside it. That vapor turns into droplets, which is called con
Read the full answer →What Crafty Clover says in this video
Intro
Hi! I'm Crafty Clover! Let's discover something amazing. Why do cold glasses get wet?
The Big Idea
Pour an icy drink on a warm day, and soon the outside of the glass is covered in drips! Is the glass leaking? Nope! That water came from the air all around us. Let's find out how!
Water Vapor
Step one: air holds invisible water vapor. Water can float in the air as a gas, called water vapor. It's there right now, all around you! You can't see it, but on warm, sticky days, there's lots of it.
Cold Glass
Step two: a cold glass cools the air beside it. The icy drink makes the glass cold. And the thin layer of air touching the glass gets chilly too. Cold air can't hold as much water vapor as warm air.
Condensation
Step three: the vapor turns into droplets. The extra water vapor squeezes together into tiny drops of liquid water, right on the glass. That's called condensation. Say it: kon-den-SAY-shun!
A Closer Look
Let's look closer at our icy glass! The warm room air is full of invisible water vapor. Right next to the glass, the air gets chilly. So the vapor turns into droplets, on the outside of the glass.
Quick Facts
Quick facts! The water came from the air, not through the glass! Morning dew on the grass forms the same way, on cool nights. When you breathe on a cold mirror, it fogs up. That's condensation too! Clouds form when water vapor high in the sky cools into tiny droplets.
Think Like a Scientist
Now, think like a scientist! Put a cold glass of ice water on the counter, next to a glass of room temperature water. Watch the outside of both glasses. Which one gets wet? Only the cold one!
Outro
So cold glasses get wet because the chilly glass turns water vapor from the air into droplets. That's condensation! Crafty Clover can be found on Amazon Books, Google Bookstore, and Apple Books. Available for purchase or download! Bye for now!