 |
|
The storage of energy at the surface of liquids. Surface tension has units of erg cm-2 or dyne cm-1. It arises because
atoms on the surface are missing bonds. Energy is released when bonds are formed, so the most stable low energy
configuration has the fewest missing bonds. Surface tension therefore tries to minimize the surface area, resulting
in liquids forming spherical droplets and allowing insects to walk on the surface without sinking.
For water, a simple calculation would yield
 |
(2) |
The surface tension for water against air is summarized in the following table (Weast 1981).
temperature ( C) |
surface tension (erg cm-2) |
| -8 | 77.0 |
| -5 | 76.4 |
| 0 |
75.6 |
| 5 |
74.9 |
| 10 |
74.22 |
| 15 |
73.49 |
| 18 |
73.05 |
| 20 |
72.75 |
| 25 |
71.97 |
| 30 |
71.18 |
| 40 |
69.56 |
| 50 |
67.91 |
| 60 |
66.18 |
| 70 |
64.4 |
| 80 |
62.6 |
| 100 |
58.9 |
 Bubble, Capillary Tube, Gibbs-Thomson Law
© 1996-2007 Eric W. Weisstein
|
