Why Does Condensation Form on a Drinking Glass?
To understand why water condenses on a cold drinking glass, you need to know some basic things about water. Water alternates between liquid and gas phases, and the phase water is in at any given moment depends largely on temperature. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science website, water molecules that evaporate into the gas phase have absorbed heat energy and these energetic molecules therefore stay far apart. Condensation is the opposite of evaporation. It’s the process by which water molecules lose heat energy and start sticking together to change water from a gas back to liquid.
