Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Surface Tension

Surface Tension

What is it?

Surface tension is a force that holds
liquid molecules together - a mutual attraction of like molecules. When molecules break free of this force, evaporation or vaporization can occur, and gas molecules are formed. In that way, surface tension makes the outer surface of a liquid act as a membrane, selectively allowing certain things to pass through.

Give me an example!

Have you ever wondered why things float? Simple - if an object's
density is less than the surface tension of the liquid, then surface tension will support the object and it will float on the surface of the liquid. If on the other hand the object's density is greater than the surface tension of the liquid, it will not be supported by surface tension and the object will sink.

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