A condensation sink (CS) quantifies the rate of uptake of condensing vapours by pre-existing aerosol and can be used as well to quantify losses of monomers/clusters. An analytical solution of the condensation equation valid in a wide range of particle diameters is presented. We describe the dynamics of atmospheric CS, test the formulas against field observations and further use them to develop a simplified model of the coupled dynamics of aerosol and condensing vapours in the atmosphere.