01/09/2015

SurfaceTension(WaterProperties),USGSWaterScienceSchool

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SurfaceTensionandWater
The
Surfacetension
cohesive
forces
Thepropertyofthesurface
between
ofaliquidthatallowsitto
liquid
resistanexternalforce,due
molecules
tothecohesivenatureofits
are
molecules.
responsible
forthephenomenonknownassurface
tension.Themoleculesatthesurfaceofa
glassofwaterdonothaveotherwater
moleculesonallsidesofthemand
consequentlytheycoheremorestronglyto
Floatingpaperclipmadeofsteelwithcopper
thosedirectlyassociatedwiththem(inthis
plating.Thehighsurfacetensionhelpsthepaper
case,nexttoandbelowthem,butnot
clipwithmuchhigherdensityfloatonthewater.
above).Itisnotreallytruethata"skin"
Credit:ArminKbelbeck.
formsonthewatersurfacethestronger
cohesionbetweenthewatermoleculesasopposedtotheattractionofthewatermolecules
totheairmakesitmoredifficulttomoveanobjectthroughthesurfacethantomoveit
whenitiscompletelysubmersed.(Source:GSU).
CohesionandSurfaceTension

Thecohesiveforcesbetweenmoleculesinaliquidaresharedwithallneighboring
molecules.Thoseonthesurfacehavenoneighboringmoleculesaboveand,thus,exhibit
strongerattractiveforcesupontheirnearestneighborsonandbelowthesurface.Surface
tensioncouldbedefinedasthepropertyofthesurfaceofaliquidthatallowsittoresistan
externalforce,duetothecohesivenatureofthewatermolecules.

Surfacetensionatamolecularlevel
Watermoleculeswanttoclingtoeachother.Atthesurface,however,therearefewer
watermoleculestoclingtosincethereisairabove(thus,nowatermolecules).Thisresults
inastrongerbondbetweenthosemoleculesthatactuallydocomeincontactwithone
another,andalayerofstronglybondedwater(seediagram).Thissurfacelayer(held
togetherbysurfacetension)createsaconsiderablebarrierbetweentheatmosphereandthe
water.Infact,otherthanmercury,waterhasthegreatestsurfacetensionofanyliquid.
(Source:LakesofMissouri)
Withinabodyofaliquid,amoleculewillnotexperienceanetforcebecausetheforcesby
theneighboringmoleculesallcancelout(diagram).Howeverforamoleculeonthesurface
oftheliquid,therewillbeanetinwardforcesincetherewillbenoattractiveforceacting
fromabove.Thisinwardnetforcecausesthemoleculesonthesurfacetocontractandto
resistbeingstretchedorbroken.Thusthesurfaceisundertension,whichisprobablywhere
thename"surfacetension"camefrom.(Source:WoodrowWilsonFoundation).
Duetothesurfacetension,smallobjectswill"float"onthesurfaceofafluid,aslongasthe
objectcannotbreakthroughandseparatethetoplayerofwatermolecules.Whenanobject
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/surfacetension.html

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01/09/2015

SurfaceTension(WaterProperties),USGSWaterScienceSchool

isonthesurfaceofthefluid,thesurfaceunder
tensionwillbehavelikeanelasticmembrane.
Examplesofsurfacetension
Walkingonwater:

Smallinsectssuch
asthewaterstrider
canwalkonwater
becausetheirweight
isnotenoughto
penetratethe
surface.
Floatinganeedle:Acarefullyplacedsmall

needlecanbemadetofloatonthesurfaceof
watereventhoughitisseveraltimesasdense
aswater.Ifthesurfaceisagitatedtobreakup
thesurfacetension,thenneedlewillquickly
sink.
Don'ttouchthetent!:Commontentmaterialsaresomewhatrainproofinthatthesurface

tensionofwaterwillbridgetheporesinthefinelywovenmaterial.Butifyoutouchthetent
materialwithyourfinger,youbreakthesurfacetensionandtherainwilldripthrough.
Clinicaltestforjaundice:Normalurinehasasurfacetensionofabout66dynes/centimeter

butifbileispresent(atestforjaundice),itdropstoabout55.IntheHaytest,powdered
sulfurissprinkledontheurinesurface.Itwillfloatonnormalurine,butwillsinkifthe
surfacetensionisloweredbythebile.
Surfacetensiondisinfectants:Disinfectantsareusuallysolutionsoflowsurfacetension.This

allowthemtospreadoutonthecellwallsofbacteriaanddisruptthem.
Soapsanddetergents:Thesehelpthecleaningofclothesbyloweringthesurfacetensionof

thewatersothatitmorereadilysoaksintoporesandsoiledareas.
Washingwithcoldwater:Themajorreasonforusinghotwaterforwashingisthatits

surfacetensionisloweranditisabetterwettingagent.Butifthedetergentlowersthe
surfacetension,theheatingmaybeunneccessary.
Whybubblesareround:Thesurfacetensionofwaterprovidesthenecessarywalltensionfor

theformationofbubbleswithwater.Thetendencytominimizethatwalltensionpullsthe
bubblesintosphericalshapes.
SurfaceTensionandDroplets:Surfacetensionisresponsiblefortheshapeofliquiddroplets.

Althougheasilydeformed,dropletsofwatertendtobepulledintoasphericalshapebythe
cohesiveforcesofthesurfacelayer.
Source:GSU

U.S.DepartmentoftheInterior|U.S.GeologicalSurvey
URL:http://water.usgs.gov/edu/surfacetension.html
PageContactInformation:HowardPerlman
PageLastModified:Monday,27Jul201514:42:36EDT

http://water.usgs.gov/edu/surfacetension.html

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