what is surface tension?

Answer 1

In physics, surface tension is an effect within the surface layer of a liquid that causes that layer to behave as an elastic sheet. This effect allows insects (such as the water strider) to walk on water. It allows small metal objects such as needles, razor blades, or foil fragments to float on the surface of water, and causes capillary action. Interface tension is the name of the same effect when it takes place between two liquids.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_tension
*Surface tension is represented by the symbol σ, γ or T and is defined as the force along a line of unit length where the force is parallel to the surface but perpendicular to the line. One way to picture this is to imagine a flat soap film bounded on one side by a taut thread of length, L. The thread will be pulled toward the interior of the film by a force equal to γL. Surface tension is therefore measured in newtons per meter (N·m-1), although the cgs unit of dynes per cm is normally used.

A better definition of surface tension, in order to treat its thermodynamics, is work done per unit area. As such, in order to increase the surface area of a mass of liquid an amount, δA, a quantity of work, γδA, is needed. Since mechanical systems try to find a state of minimum potential energy, a free droplet of liquid naturally assumes a spherical shape. This is because a sphere has the minimum surface area for a given volume. Therefore surface tension can be also measured in joules per square metre (J·m-2), or, in the cgs system, ergs per cm2.

Answer 2

Surface Tension

Normally responds to water or liquid substances. Surface tension is the attraction of modules to each other on the surface of water.

This is why you can slowly fill a glass and it will bubble higher then the lip of the glass. That is surface tension holding the water aloft.

This is also why they tell you to point your toes down and colapse your arms when falling from a great height into a body of water. If you do not the surface of the water has enough tension to break your bones at the best and kill you at the worst.

Answer 3

Surface tension is the energy or work, required to increase the surface area of a liquid. and has units of energy per unit area(J/m^2).. as the temperature, and hence the intensity of the molecular motion increases, less work is required to extent the surface area of the liquid. meaning that "surface tension decreases with increase in temperature"

hope i am done

Answer 4

Surface tension is an effect caused by the fact that the attractive forces between molecules of a liquid and any adjacent surface- be it the side of a bowl or the open air, are usually weaker than the attractive forces between the molecules of liquid. Water molecules for example, as a result of dipole-dipole interactions, hydrogen bonding and van der waals interactions, are attracted to other water molecules, more than they are to the air or the sides of a bowl. The odd behaviour that we refer to as surface tension, is the efforts of the water molecules to remain in contact with each other, in preference to other materials.

Answer 5

In physics, surface tension is an effect within the surface layer of a liquid that causes that layer to behave as an elastic sheet. This effect allows insects (such as the water strider) to walk on water. It allows small metal objects such as needles, razor blades, or foil fragments to float on the surface of water, and causes capillary action. Interface tension is the name of the same effect when it takes place between two liquids.

Surface tension is caused by the attraction between the molecules of the liquid by various intermolecular forces. In the bulk of the liquid each molecule is pulled equally in all directions by neighboring liquid molecules, resulting in a net force of zero. At the surface of the liquid, the molecules are pulled inwards by other molecules deeper inside the liquid but they are not attracted as intensely by the molecules in the neighbouring medium (be it vacuum, air or another liquid). Therefore all of the molecules at the surface are subject to an inward force of molecular attraction which can be balanced only by the resistance of the liquid to compression. Thus the liquid squeezes itself together until it has the locally lowest surface area possible.

Another way to think about it is that a molecule in contact with a neighbor is in a lower state of energy than if it weren't in contact with a neighbor. The interior molecules all have as many neighbors as they can possibly have. But the boundary molecules have fewer neighbors than interior molecules and are therefore in a higher state of energy. For the liquid to minimize its energy state, it must minimize its number of boundary molecules and therefore minimize its surface area


Surface tension is represented by the symbol σ, γ or T and is defined as the force along a line of unit length where the force is parallel to the surface but perpendicular to the line. One way to picture this is to imagine a flat soap film bounded on one side by a taut thread of length, L. The thread will be pulled toward the interior of the film by a force equal to γL. Surface tension is therefore measured in newtons per meter (N·m-1), although the cgs unit of dynes per cm is normally used.

A better definition of surface tension, in order to treat its thermodynamics, is work done per unit area. As such, in order to increase the surface area of a mass of liquid an amount, δA, a quantity of work, γδA, is needed. Since mechanical systems try to find a state of minimum potential energy, a free droplet of liquid naturally assumes a spherical shape. This is because a sphere has the minimum surface area for a given volume. Therefore surface tension can be also measured in joules per square metre (J·m-2), or, in the cgs system, ergs per cm2.

The equivalence of both units can be proven by dimensional analysis.

A related quantity is the energy of cohesion, which is the energy released when two bodies of the same liquid become joined by a boundary of unit area. Since this process involves the removal of a unit area of surface from each of the two bodies of liquid, the energy of cohesion is equal to twice the surface energy. A similar concept, the energy of adhesion, applies to two bodies of different liquids. Energy of adhesion is linked to the surface tension of an interface between two liquids.

Answer 6

the tension of a surface, duh.