Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Surface tension is an important factor in the phenomenon of capillarity. Surface tension has the dimension of force per unit length, or of energy per unit area. [4] The two are equivalent, but when referring to energy per unit of area, it is common to use the term surface energy, which is a more general term in the sense that it applies also to ...
A: The bottom of a concave meniscus. B: The top of a convex meniscus. In physics (particularly fluid statics), the meniscus (pl.: menisci, from Greek 'crescent') is the curve in the upper surface of a liquid close to the surface of the container or another object, produced by surface tension.
Cohesion allows for surface tension, creating a "solid-like" state upon which light-weight or low-density materials can be placed. Mercury exhibits more cohesion than adhesion with glass Rain water flux from a canopy. Among the forces that govern drop formation: cohesion, surface tension, Van der Waals force, Plateau–Rayleigh instability
A surface is more wettable when γ LV and θ is low. Zisman termed the intercept of these lines when cos θ = 1 as the critical surface tension (γ c) of that surface. This critical surface tension is an important parameter because it is a characteristic of only the solid.
Water potential is the potential energy of water per unit volume relative to pure water in reference conditions. Water potential quantifies the tendency of water to move from one area to another due to osmosis, gravity, mechanical pressure and matrix effects such as capillary action (which is caused by surface tension).
Liquid forms drops because it exhibits surface tension. [1] A simple way to form a drop is to allow liquid to flow slowly from the lower end of a vertical tube of small diameter. The surface tension of the liquid causes the liquid to hang from the tube, forming a pendant. When the drop exceeds a certain size it is no longer stable and detaches ...
Gecko climbing a glass surface. The ability of geckos – which can hang on a glass surface using only one toe – to climb on sheer surfaces has been for many years mainly attributed to the van der Waals forces between these surfaces and the spatulae, or microscopic projections, which cover the hair-like setae found on their footpads. [29] [30]
A basic understanding of the terminology of cleavage energy, surface energy, and surface tension is very helpful for understanding the physical state and the events that happen at a given surface, but as discussed below, the theory of these variables also yields some interesting effects that concern the practicality of adhesive surfaces in ...