Why is it that the water droplets form on the outside of a beaker containing an ice bath??

Question

I know it has to do something with Van Der Waals, but I can't seem to find the answer. If you choose to answer the question, I'd really appreciate it if you can back it up with at least some information or facts. Thank you all in advance.

Answer 1

I guess you talking about dew when air that is humand get cold and the humany go up it form watter when it the air touching the beaker get coldes first causing watter on the beaker.

Answer 2

condensation.......
the ice is cooling the gas around the beaker and the beaker is cold. and so since there is water vapor in the air... it condenses.

the reason why it condenses on the surface of the glass is because water is polar and so is the glass. water is naturally attracted to glass. that is why when you pour water out of a glass you will not get all the water out. paper is polar too, fill a cup about a third way full of water, put a piece of paper on top of the cup, and turn it upside down. you will find that due to adhesion and cohesion forces, the paper will not fall down due to gravity. (the amount of water has to be just right so you might play with it a little, recomend you do this over a sink)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condensation

Answer 3

noble gases not water
"Van der Waals' forces are observed in noble gases. Noble gases are very stable and tend not to interact, making them difficult to condense into liquid. However, the larger the atom of the noble gas, the easier it is to condense the gas. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_Waals_bonding

Answer 4

condensation.