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. [3] 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 ...
[3] The star-nosed mole and the American water shrew can smell underwater by rapidly breathing through their nostrils and creating a bubble. [4] Research on the origin of life on Earth suggests that bubbles may have played an integral role in confining and concentrating precursor molecules for life, a function currently performed by cell ...
(σ: surface tension, ΔP max: maximum pressure drop, R cap: radius of capillary) Later, after the maximum pressure, the pressure of the bubble decreases and the radius of the bubble increases until the bubble is detached from the end of a capillary and a new cycle begins. This is not relevant to determine the surface tension. [3]
The surface tension gradient can be caused by concentration gradient or by a temperature gradient (surface tension is a function of temperature). In simple cases, the speed of the flow u ≈ Δ γ / μ {\displaystyle u\approx \Delta \gamma /\mu } , where Δ γ {\displaystyle \Delta \gamma } is the difference in surface tension and μ ...
Even though this relationship is empirical and less precise than the surface tension of a homologous series of liquids, it is very useful considering it is a parameter of the solid surface. This method is especially used to compare and measure the critical surface tension of low-energy solids (mainly plastics) very quickly and easily.
Hydrostatics offers physical explanations for many phenomena of everyday life, such as why atmospheric pressure changes with altitude, why wood and oil float on water, and why the surface of still water is always level according to the curvature of the earth.
The viscosity of honey is large enough to damp all surface perturbations that would lead to the breakup of the thread into droplets. Numerous examples of the breakup of fluid threads exist in daily life. It is one of the most common fluid mechanics phenomena one experiences and as such most give the process little thought.
Surface tension is responsible for a range of other phenomena as well, including surface waves, capillary action, wetting, and ripples. In liquids under nanoscale confinement , surface effects can play a dominating role since – compared with a macroscopic sample of liquid – a much greater fraction of molecules are located near a surface.