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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 ...
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 ...
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.
Since a liquid with a high surface tension pulls more strongly on the surrounding liquid than one with a low surface tension, the presence of a gradient in surface tension will naturally cause the liquid to flow away from regions of low surface tension. The surface tension gradient can be caused by concentration gradient or by a temperature ...
A drop striking a liquid surface; in this case, both the drop and the surface are water. In fluid dynamics, drop impact occurs when a drop of liquid strikes a solid or liquid surface. The resulting outcome depends on the properties of the drop, the surface, and the surrounding fluid, which is most commonly a gas.
Three examples of droplet detachment for different fluids: (left) water, (center) glycerol, (right) a solution of PEG in water. In fluid dynamics, the Plateau–Rayleigh instability, often just called the Rayleigh instability, explains why and how a falling stream of fluid breaks up into smaller packets with the same total volume but less surface area per droplet.
Cohesion causes water to form drops, surface tension causes them to be nearly spherical, and adhesion keeps the drops in place. Water droplets are flatter on a Hibiscus flower which shows better adhesion. In surface science, the term adhesion almost always refers to dispersive adhesion.
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).