Surface tension Definition and 206 Threads

Homework Statement Consider placing a short length of small diameter steel (specific weight =490 lb/ft^3) rod on the surface of water. What is the maximum diameter that the rod can have before it will sink? Assume the surface tension forces act vertically upward.Homework Equations volume of...

Surface tension is a property of two different substances. The surface tension of water against air under different conditions is given in many textbooks and data handbooks. However, if the air is replaced by, say, hydrogen, what will be the surface tension? Where will I have to look for the...

Homework Statement For a capillary, or a thin glass rod, the surface tension of a drop on it's end is given by T=kmg , where k is some constant which depends on the radius of the capillary or rod, and mg is the weight of the drop. After experimentally finding values for the volume of the...

I read to today that soap bubbles explodes due to surface tension regardless of other forces experienced on the bubble. how does surface tension does that? does it "drive" the bubble to go larger until it explodes? Thanks, Omri

Homework Statement First part of the question was "Why is it possible to float a wax-coated stainless steel needle on the surface of water?" and I've already answered that, but I'm having trouble with the second part of the question, which is: If the surface tension at the interface is...

See link: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com:8100/legacy/college/cutnell/0471713988/ste/ste.pdf. When defining surface tension, the article makes reference to a C-shaped apparatus. Why is γ = F/2l and not F/l? It says something about there being two surfaces, but it seems to me that because...

I start working with the OCA15plus tensiometer and I don't know what the three red lines that appear in the program SCA20 means and how should I position them in the image of the drop on an analysis of surface tension by pendant drop method, for example. Can anyone help me?

Homework Statement (Sorry if this topic belongs to another forum.) The definition of surface tension is the force exerted parallel to the surface of a liquid along a line of unit length, perpendicular to the line. So if, hypothetically, when you place a needle on the surface of water, the...

can anyone explain what actually surface tension is?? I am confused about surface tension. Everywhere it is written that due to unbalance of forces at surface the molecules at boundary tend to move inwards and thus surface tends to take minimum area as possible. This is ok but it is also...

This probably belongs in one of the physics or engineering forums, but I don't know which one... so I post here with a request that it be moved if appropriate. Back in the early 70's, I desired to build a diorama of the Enterprise and a D7 Klingon cruiser. It would, of course, have to be fully...

I don't really understand surface tension. I understand that the molecules at the liquid surface will be attracted downwards due to the resultant force caused by the attraction between molecules. However, this statement in my textbook baffled me. "Consequently molecules in the surface have...

Homework Statement I have an experiment which is described as: Float a water-soaked ping pong ball in a can of water held more than a meter from a rigid floor. Then drop the can. What happens to the ball as both drop (and what does his say about surface tension)? More dramatically, what...

Homework Statement An ant weighs 5 mg and requires 0.5 mm of edge to "walk on water" with the aid of surface tension. How much edge is required for a human who weighs 50 kg? Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I'm assuming that the relationship between area and weight...

A rare species of insect about 1.5mm in diameter floats fully submerged just beneath the surface of the water in lakes and ponds. When threatened, it responds to danger by exuding a noxious substance from its tail that changes the surface tension on the skin of its tail. As a result the...

Homework Statement A glass tube is vertically suspended using a spring balance.The thickness of the glass tube is 0.4mm.Now it is lowered towards a liquid.When the lower surface of the tube touches the liquid surface,a change can be seen in the spring balance reading. Now the tube is immersed...

Hey! Been doi some coursework from a text but can't seem to find any solutions so don't know if I am even remotely close to the right answer. Q. A steel ball can float on water due to the surface tension effect. a) Determine the maximum diameter of a steel ball that would float on water...

From what I've read, the surface tension pulls upward on the given volume of water and when this surface tension force equals the force of gravity (weight), there is no more vertical movement up the tube. Why is it said that the surface tension pulls upward on the mass of water when surface...

Hello! I am using the Lattice Boltzmann method to simulate multiphase flow. The details are not important but the main drive behind multiple phases being simulated is interparticle forces. Now I am trying to visualise intuitively how such interparticle forces will cause a fluid to experience...

Homework Statement I need to calculate the surface tension of jelly (gelatine dessert) or jell-o, as it is known in the states. My textbook defines surface tension as Y=F/L. Is this the equation I would use to calculate surface tension? If so, how?

I have been studying surface tension from my textbook, when I came across a question in which a thin circular plate is placed over water. The surface tension of the water is given. The minimum force required to pull away the circular plate is asked. The dilemma, I am in is in which direction...

I'm looking for household liquids, preferable kitchen/cooking liquids with a low surface tension. I know of soap water, alcohol, and found olive oil. Any other ideas would be appreciated. I'm looking for something in the mid to low 20's mN/m or less. Thanks, -Eric

Hello all, From where does the liquid helium get the energy to climb the sides of the pot that's holding it? regards

Hello :) So I am doing a lab to measure the surface tension of tap water, distilled water, and soap solution usin 3 different methods (well 2 for the waters and 3 for the soap). I did this in a pretty standard way...attached a glass microscope slide to a tensiometer balance...made the...

At critical temperature, the surface tension becomes zero. What happens to contact angle at critical temperature?

i don't know how to describe the relationship between surface tension and the shape of a liquid drop. Also what are the attractive forces that increase surface tension?

Homework Statement Discuss the variation of force of surface tension with the help of maxwell relations ? Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution It is a question from previous year question paper , my exams are going so i am asking for little help as i don't know how to...

I tried posting a similar question before, however, I've found the 1 reply is actually wrong. Hopefully with better illustrations, someone will know. The situation in the picture is a drop of water entering a capillary tube. It is located here...

A query about, I think, extinguishing surface tension in 75% EtOH:H2O. I need to examine microscopically (~50x) specimens preserved and stored in the above medium, which I do by immersing them in dishes filled with the above, illuminating w fiber optics, and examining with a stereomicroscope...

Hi. We have done some experiments on stretching of DNA strands. We want to expand our report with some physical modelling but we are having some problems understanding surface tension. We have read some introductive book about fuild dynamics and used wiki a lot but we still have problems...

could not solve this exam problem completely please help: Variations in surface tension can cause a flow in a liquid.One of the chief causes for variation of surface tension is temperature.Consider a thin film of liquid on a flat surface.The liquid film also has a free surface where the...

I've have read that putting acetone (.08% by volume)into the gasoline for your automobile helps the gas to atomize better by decreasing the surface tension of the gasoline. I have a link here.http://www.pureenergysystems.com/news/2005/03/17/6900069_Acetone/ I tried it myself, and found the...

Homework Statement If we know the surface tension of a liquid how can we find the binding energy of the molecules of the liquid if we have a simple cubic structure and we know the distance between the atoms? Homework Equations The surface tension is Tension= \frac{F}{l} and is known. so...

i'm looking into the physics behind surface tension, and am a little confused about the intermolecular forces that act on the liquid. I understand that hydrogen bonding occurs because of the positive and negative atoms in a water molecule. However, i am unsure of exactly what other forces occur...

i am doing a physics assignment on the realationship between surface tension and temperature. i have calculated the surface tension at various temperatures using a capillary tube and measuring the height. i was given the formula: surface tension=(densityxradius of tubeheight of...

help! surface tension i am doing a physics experiment on the relationship between a liquids temperature and resulting surface tension. i am going to record the various surface tension of various liquids at different temperatures. the only problem is, is that I am not sure how to accurately...

This is an applied physics problem. A droplet of water sits on a horizontal surface. A large horizontal surface descends on the droplet and squashes it. The surface moves upwards; droplet is unsquashed. Further movement causes the drop to stretch towards the moving surface. At some point...

i have a question on surface tension. if i had a a sprayer which squirted a liquid of density p through a hole of radius 'r', following which the liquid breaks into 'n' equal-sized droplets.can i estimate the radius of each droplet??

Hi! I'm revising for my graduation exams and I unfortunately got stuck thinking about surface tension, esp about the example of a needle lying on water. When you look on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SurftensionDiagram.gif" drawing? Or do surface forces act (exist) only along "seperation"...

The surface tension of a liquid such as water depends on the medium in which it shares (or the substance that shares with the liquid's boundary)? If that medium or substance is air than the surface tension measured would be higher than if it was glass. Correct? If you try to measure surface...

I was having trouble with this problem. please let me know how to approach this. thanks. The density of ice is 920 kg/m3, and that of seawater is 1030 kg/m3. What fraction of the total volume of an iceberg is exposed?

Hello everyone, I would like to challange any competent physicist to tell me in simple terms what surface tension really is. There seems to be an abundant number of websites, not to mention a few books, that are simply too vague and unnecessarily difficult at attempting to explain this topic...

Sir, The material of a wire has a density of 1.4 gm/cc. If it is not wetted by a liquid of surface tension of 44 dyne/cm, then what is the maximum radius of the wire that can float on the surface of the liquid? Can you give a hint to solve this problem?

I have a few questions about polarity of molecules, first off i know that soaps/detergents have both a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic end which are essential to is operations but is there anything else about its shape or electronegativity that I am missing, like is it polar/non-poalr cause i...

My group is to teach a lesson to our AP Physics class on a lesson from our book. We got lesson 92, which deals with Viscous Fluids, Surface Tension, and Elastic Properties of Solids. Since there's 3 people, we each got one and lucky me got surface tension. I have to be able to discuss this...

Hi, how can found Bashforth-Adams table(.xls or .doc or .txt,PC's doc),to calc surface tension!Thanks!

Hi all, I wonder whether anybody could help me finding the surface energy value of the interface between silicon and SiO2... Thanks in advance ! Mr. G

Hi all, I wonder whether anybody could help me finding the surface energy value of the interface between silicon and SiO2... Thanks in advance ! Mr. G

just something i been thinking about lately in relation to how causal dynamic triangulations connect to form spacetime When one bubble meets with another, the resulting union is always one of total sharing and compromise (Human beings could learn a lot from bubbles.) Since bubbles always try...

Hi, Just a quick question: How do you meausre surface tension of a liquid? WHat meathods are used and how do the units reflect the data. Thanks Derek Mohammed

Hello! Question one: How do u measure the surface tension? (I'm looking for the experimental method now, not the theoretical one by itself) Question two: When ejecting water droplets at a high velocity at a small angle to a water surface/body, the droplets might not merge with the body of...