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Application of Surface Tension: What is surface tension and what are its applications? The surface tension is primarily a force that acts to diminish the liquid’s surface area. Surface tension is a directed contracting force that attracts molecules at the liquid’s surface to the liquid’s center. The composition of the vapor phase affects the surface tension of liquids. Liquid surface tension plays a vital part in everyday living and various industrial activities. In this article we will learn about the application of surface tension.
Interior type molecules and exterior type molecules are the two basic molecules. Exterior type molecules are those on the outside, whereas interior type molecules are those on the inside. Interior molecules have a lower energy state than exterior molecules because they are attracted to all surrounding molecules. In contrast, exterior molecules are only attracted to other surface molecules and those below the surface. As a result, molecules strive to maintain a smaller surface area, allowing more molecules to exist in a lower energy state.
A brief outline on Surface Tension
Due to their opposite charges, water molecules are attracted to one another. Because hydrogen is positive and oxygen is negative, they attract and bind together. There is surface tension because breaking the bonds between molecules requires a certain amount of energy. Water is a viscous liquid with high surface tension. Many things with a lower density than water can float on the water due to the extremely high surface tension.
The Action of Capillaries:
Adhesive and cohesive forces are the two types of forces. Cohesive force refers to the intermolecular force that exists between molecules. When a liquid comes into touch with a surface, the molecules of the liquid and the surface attract each other, creating adhesive forces.
Consider a very small diameter tube placed into a liquid and open on both ends. The effects of adhesive and cohesive force can be seen here. The adhesive forces are stronger than the cohesive forces when the capillary is placed into the water. As a result, water molecules are more attracted to the glass than each other in this scenario. As a result of the high surface tension of water, the water surface rises and wets the glass surface. This is what capillary action is all about.
If we replace the water with mercury and then introduce a capillary, we can observe how the mercury surface curls downward against the glass. This is because the cohesive force is stronger than the adhesive force in this situation. Mercury molecules are attracted to each other more strongly than they are to the molecules of a glass surface. When a capillary is put into mercury, the surface tension causes mercury to sink into the glass capillary, but this does not wet the glass.
Application of Surface Tension:
Surface tension plays a significant role in everyday life, health, and many industrial processes. There have been a plethora of approaches created to alter surface tension.
- Depending on the surface tension of water, a needle placed in water can float.
- Because of the surface tension of water, mosquito eggs can float.
- Toothpaste contains soap, which helps it spread readily in the mouth by reducing surface tension.
- Antiseptics, such as Dettol, have a low surface tension, allowing them to spread more quickly.
A real-life example:
- Small insects like the water strider can move on the water’s surface since their weight is so little that they can’t penetrate it.
- Disinfectants are primarily low-surface-tension solutions that can float on water and spread out on cells to destroy them when used in the field.
- Application of surface tension is also used in the formulation of soaps and detergents. They reduce the water’s surface tension, allowing soaps and detergents to penetrate the pores and holes easily.
- Water bubbles are round since surface tension provides the tension needed to create the bubble with the water, and surface tension minimizes the bubble’s spherical shape.
- You can float a little needle on the water’s surface.
Surface tension‘s impact on human health
Changes in surface tension in biological phenomena can predict various diseases in the human body.
Application of surface tension in the industry
In industrial processes, surface tension is a significant component. R&D departments in all industrial plants use surface tension phenomena to improve product quality. Many activities, such as detergent formulas, increase the product’s quality. Using detergent compositions, we can increase cleaning qualities with more biological surfactants at a lower temperature. Surface tension is especially crucial for food, pharmaceutical, and packaging product characterization.
Because of the cohesive forces between the rainfall molecules and the surface tension of the water molecules, raindrops are spherical. Normal water will not be able to eliminate the oil and liquid wax marks from the garments. To get rid of the stains, we’ll have to utilize detergents. As a result, when we add detergents or soaps to the water, the surface tension of the water drops, allowing water molecules to access every corner of the textiles and eradicate the oil and liquid wax. Since the surface tension of oil is lower than the surface tension of water, oil spreads over the water’s surface.
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FAQs
What is the difference between tap water and distilled water in terms of surface tension?
The surface tension value is determined by the number of contaminants in the water. As a result, we can see that tap water contains more contaminants than distilled water.
Why do raindrops produce beads on the leaf's surface?
Because the leaf's surface is waxy, water attaches weakly to wax and firmly to itself, forming clusters into drops. They have spherical forms due to the surface tension of the water.
What is the method by which we walk on water?
Objects with a lower density than water can float just on the water's surface. The surface tension of the water is used by water striders to walk on the water's surface.
What are the surface tension units?
Surface tension is measured in Newton per meter (SI unit) and Dyn/cm (CGS unit).
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