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Surface Tension

Surface tension of some common liquids like water, mercury, oils and more

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Surface tension is the energy required to stretch a unit change of a surface area. Surface tension will form a drop of liquid to a sphere since the sphere offers the smallest area for a definite volume.

Surface tension can be defined as

σ = Fs / l          (1)

where

σ = surface tension (N/m)

Fs =  stretching force (N)

l = unit length (m)

Alternative Units

Alternatively, surface tension is typically measured in dynes/cm, which is

  • the force in dynes required to break a film of length 1 cm

or as surface energy J/m2 or alternatively ergs per square centimeter.

  • 1 dynes/cm = 0.001 N/m = 0.0000685 lbf/ft = 0.571 10-5 lbf/in = 0.0022 poundal/ft = 0.00018 poundal/in = 1.0 mN/m = 0.001 J/m2 = 1.0 erg/cm2 = 0.00010197 kgf/m

Common Imperial units used are lb/ft and lb/in.

Surface Tension of Water

Water surface tension at different temperatures can be taken from the table below:

Temperature
(oC)
Surface Tension
- σ -
(N/m)
0 0.0757
10 0.0742
20 0.0728
30 0.0712
40 0.0696
50 0.0679
60 0.0662
70 0.0644
80 0.0626
90 0.0608
100 0.0588

Surface Tension of some common Fluids

  • benzene : 0.0289 (N/m)
  • diethyl ether : 0.0728 (N/m)
  • carbon tetrachloride : 0.027 (N/m)
  • chloroform : 0.0271 (N/m)
  • ethanol : 0.0221 (N/m)
  • ethylene glycol : 0.0477 (N/m)
  • glycerol : 0.064 (N/m)
  • mercury : 0.425 (N/m)
  • methanol : 0.0227 (N/m)
  • propanol : 0.0237 (N/m)
  • toluene : 0.0284 (N/m)
  • water at 20oC : 0.0729 (N/m)

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Related Topics

  • Fluid Mechanics - The study of fluids - liquids and gases. Involves various properties of the fluid, such as velocity, pressure, density and temperature, as functions of space and time.

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Related Documents

  • Capillarity - Capillarity or capillary action is the ability of a narrow tube to draw a liquid upwards against the force of gravity
  • Surface Tension of Water in contact with Air - Surface tension of water in contact with air for temperatures ranging 0 - 100 oC (32 - 212 oF) - in imperial units (BG units) and SI units

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