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Dieter@be:
Yes, condensation is below ambient temp, but not a few degrees, I heard you must go 10° below ambient to have codensation.
christovan153:
wait is condensation caused by the chip getting below freezing or below room temperature... i thought if it was cooler than room temp, water droplets would be formed also.....???
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FYI, condensation is a function of temperature and the amount of water vapour in the air.
At any given temperature, air can contain a certain amount of water vapour. As the temperature goes up, the amount of vapour that can be held goes up. As the temperature goes down, the amount of vapour that can be held goes down.
The DIFFERENCE between the amount of water vapour that the air actually contains and the amount that it theoretically could contain at that temperature is what makes the number for 'humidity' that you hear them talk about in weather forcasting.
The temperature at which a volume of air can no longer contain the amount of water vapour presently in it is called the DEW POINT. The higher the humidity, the higher the dew point.
If the amount of water vapour is greater than the air can hold, you get condensation or fog. (AKA Dew)
If an object is cooler than ambient air temp, then it causes the air next to it to cool (basic thermodynamics), if the temperature of that cooled air is lower than the dew point, you get condensation, if it isn't you don't.
Thus a sub-ambient cooling system in the Sahara (where there is low humidity, and a very low dew point) might not get any condensation. The exact same system placed in Southern Louisiana (where you have high humidity and a much higher dew point) would get extreme condensation.
It is important to understand this if planning to go subambient, because it will determine how much insulation you need on your cooling system and hardware.
Gooserider