Surface Tension

Surface tension is a phenomenon in which the surface of a liquid, where the liquid is in contact with gas, acts like a thin elastic sheet. This term is typically used only when the liquid surface is in contact with gas (such as the air). If the surface is between two liquids (such as water and oil), it is called "interface tension."

Causes of Surface Tension

Various intermolecular forces, such as Van der Waals forces, draw the liquid particles together. Along the surface, the particles are pulled toward the rest of the liquid, as shown in the picture to the right.

Surface tension (denoted with the Greek variable gamma) is defined as the ratio of the surface force F to the length d along which the force acts:

gamma = F / d

Units of Surface Tension

Surface tension is measured in SI units of N/m (newton per meter), although the more common unit is the cgs unit dyn/cm (dyne per centimeter).

In order to consider the thermodynamics of the situation, it is sometimes useful to consider it in terms of work per unit area. The SI unit in that case is the J/m² (joules per meter squared). The cgs unit is erg/cm².

These forces bind the surface particles together. Though this binding is weak - it's pretty easy to break the surface of a liquid after all - it does manifest in many ways.

Examples of Surface Tension

Drops of water. When using a water dropper, the water does not flow in a continuous stream, but rather in a series of drops. The shape of the drops is caused by the surface tension of the water. The only reason the drop of water isn't completely spherical is because of the force of gravity pulling down on it. In the absence of gravity, the drop would minimize the surface area in order to minimize tension, which would result in a perfectly spherical shape.

Insects walking on water. Several insects are able to walk on water, such as the water strider. Their legs are formed to distribute their weight, causing the surface of the liquid to become depressed, minimizing the potential energy to create a balance of forces so that the strider can move across the surface of the water without breaking through the surface. This is similar in concept to wearing snow shoes to walk across deep snowdrifts without your feet sinking.

Needle (or paper clip) floating on water. Even though the density of these objects are greater than water, the surface tension along the depression is enough to counteract the force of gravity pulling down on the metal object. Click on the picture to the right, then click "Next," to view a force diagram of this situation or try out the Floating Needle trick for yourself.