SURFACE TENSION

Surface tension is measured as the energy required to increase the surface area of a liquid by a unit of
area. The surface tension of a liquid results from an imbalance of intermolecular attractive forces,
the cohesive forces between molecules:

 A molecule in the bulk liquid experiences cohesive forces with other molecules in all directions.
 A molecule at the surface of a liquid experiences only net inward cohesive forces.

A microscopic view of water illustrates the difference between molecules at the surface of a liquid and
water molecules within a liquid.

Adhesive Forces

Forces of attraction between a liquid and a solid surface are called adhesive forces. The difference in
strength between cohesive forces and adhesive forces determine the behavior of a liquid in contact with a
solid surface.

 Water does not wet waxed surfaces because the cohesive forces within the drops are stronger than
the adhesive forces between the drops and the wax.
 Water wets glass and spreads out on it because the adhesive forces between the liquid and the
glass are stronger than the cohesive forces within the water.

Formation of a Meniscus
Capillary Action

Capillary action is the rise of a liquid that wets a tube up the inside of a small diameter tube (i.e., a
capillary) immersed in the liquid.

 The liquid creeps up the inside of the tube (because of adhesive forces between the liquid and the
inner walls of the tube) until the adhesive and cohesive forces of the liquid are balanced by the
weight of the liquid.
 The smaller the diameter of the tube, the higher the liquid rises.

Capillary action is the result of adhesion and surface tension. Adhesion of water to the walls of a vessel
will cause an upward force on the liquid at the edges and result in a meniscus which turns upward. The
surface tension acts to hold the surface intact, so instead of just the edges moving upward, the whole
liquid surface is dragged upward.
Capillary action occurs when the adhesion to the walls is stronger than the cohesive forces between the
liquid molecules. The height to which capillary action will take water in a uniform circular tube is limited
by surface tension. Acting around the circumference, the upward force is

The height h to which capillary action will lift water depends upon the weight of water which the surface
tension will lift:

𝑇2𝜋𝑟 = 𝜌𝑔(ℎ𝜋𝑟 2 )
The height to which the liquid can be lifted is given by:

2𝑇
ℎ=
𝜌𝑟𝑔

The height h to which Capillary action will lift water depends upon the weight of water which the surface
tension will lift:

𝑇2𝜋𝑟 = 𝜌𝑔(ℎ𝜋𝑟 2 )
The height to which the liquid can be lifted is given by:

2𝑇
ℎ=
𝜌𝑟𝑔
References:
https://www.chem.purdue.edu/gchelp/liquids/tension.html
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/surten2.html#c6