SURFACE TENSION

Surface tension is a contractive tendency of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force. It is revealed, for example, in the floating of some objects on the surface of water, even though they are denser than water, and in the ability of some insects (e.g. water striders) to run on the water surface. his property is caused by cohesion of similar molecules, and is responsible for many of the behaviours of liquids.

Surface tension has the dimension of force per unit length, or of energy per unit area. he two are equivalent!but when referring to energy per unit of area, people use the term surface energy!which is a more general term in the sense that it applies also to solids and not just liquids. In materials science, surface tension is used for either surface stress or surface free energy.

CAUSES
he cohesive forces among liquid molecules are responsible for the phenomenon of surface tension. In the bul" of the liquid, each molecule is pulled equally in every direction by neighbouring liquid molecules, resulting in a net force of #ero. he molecules at the surface do not have other molecules on all sides of them and therefore are pulled inwards. his creates some internal pressure and forces liquid surfaces to contract to the minimal area. Surface tension is responsible for the shape of liquid droplets. $lthough easily deformed, droplets of water tend to be pulled into a spherical shape by the cohesive forces of the surface layer. In the absence of other forces, including gravity,

drops of virtually all liquids would be perfectly spherical. he spherical shape minimi#es he necessary %wall tension% of the surface layer according to &aplace's law. $nother way to view surface tension is in terms of energy. $ molecule in contact with a neighbour is in a lower state of energy than if it were alone (not in contact with a neighbour). he interior molecules have as many neighbours as they can possibly have, but the boundary molecules are missing neighbours (compared to interior molecules) and therefore have a higher energy. (or the liquid to minimi#e its energy state, the number of higher energy boundary molecules must be minimi#ed. he minimi#ed quantity of boundary molecules results in a minimi#ed surface area.

$s a result of surface area minimi#ation, a surface will assume the smoothest shape it can (mathematical proof that %smooth% shapes

)inimi#e surface area relies on use of the *uler+&agrange equation). Since any curvature in the surface shape results in greater area, a higher energy will also result. ,onsequently the surface will push bac" against any curvature in much the same way as a ball pushed uphill will push bac" to minimi#e its gravitational potential energy.

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