# Condensation on cold vessels

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condensation-on-cold-vessels/185736>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 2, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condensation-on-cold-vessels/185736 "2003-07-02T06:57:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condensation-on-cold-vessels/185736/1 "2003-07-02T06:57:29Z")

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Is the condensation on a cold bottle (glass with no presumed contaminants) pure water?

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**Author:** ![Alereon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alereon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alereon)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condensation-on-cold-vessels/185736/2 "2003-07-02T07:11:08Z")

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It’s not totally pure, but very close to it. It contains impurities from the surface of the vessel and from the atmosphere. Given a very clean surface and not-very-dirty air, methinks it would be as close to pure as can reasonably be attained at home.

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**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condensation-on-cold-vessels/185736/3 "2003-07-02T07:19:00Z")

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I didn’t include the contaminations from the bottle surface on purpose, thought that would be given since it’s not “produced”. Gasses from the atmosphere are probably more of what I’m thinking of, if they’re present. Chemists?

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**Author:** ![Alereon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alereon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alereon)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condensation-on-cold-vessels/185736/4 "2003-07-02T07:38:37Z")

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Just for clarification, are you primarily thinking about dissolved atmospheric gasses, or particles, like pollin, smog components, and dust?

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**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condensation-on-cold-vessels/185736/5 "2003-07-02T13:36:39Z")

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You will get various atmospheric gases dissolved into the water by the simple fact that the gases and water exist in the same place. Pollen may get trapped on the surface of the water beads and remain, but over all a very pure form of water. I mean its basically rain water without all that falling.