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/sˈərfəs tˈɛnʃən/ Listen

noun

Surface tension n. (Physics) That property, due to molecular forces, which exists in the surface film of all liquids and tends to bring the contained volume into a form having the least superficial area. The thickness of this film, amounting to less than a thousandth of a millimeter, is considered to equal the radius of the sphere of molecular action, that is, the greatest distance at which there is cohesion between two particles. Particles lying below this film, being equally acted on from all sides, are in equilibrium as to forces of cohesion, but those in the film are on the whole attracted inward, and tension results.

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Etymology of 'Surface tension'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Surface tension" Quotes from Famous Books

... can be caused to drain away, the tube may be dried by heating it along its length, beginning at the top (to get the advantage of the reduction of surface tension), and so on all down. It will then be possible to mop up a little more of the rinsing liquid. When the tube is nearly dry a loose plug of cotton wool may be inserted at the bottom. The wool must be put in ...

— On Laboratory Arts • Richard Threlfall

... surfaces of different kinds or between liquid and solid surfaces due to surface tension. Its phenomena are greatly modified by electric charging, which alters the surface tension. Capillarity is the cause of solutions "creeping," as it is termed. Thus in gravity batteries a crust of zinc sulphate often formed over the edge of the jar due to the solution ...

— The Standard Electrical Dictionary - A Popular Dictionary of Words and Terms Used in the Practice - of Electrical Engineering • T. O'Conor Slone

... recovered as the surface contracts. The transformation is, however, at all moments accompanied by a great loss of energy as heat. Moreover, it must be remembered that the energy expended in creating the surface of the satellite drops is not restored if these remain permanently separate. Thus the surface tension explains the recoil, and it is also closely connected with the formation of the subordinate rays and arms. To explain this it is only necessary to remind you that a liquid cylinder is an unstable configuration. As you know, any fine ...

— The Splash of a Drop • A. M. Worthington

... be forgotten. Boys' experiments in soap bubbles have been the inspiration of generations of students of capillarity. And if the physicist will consult with the physiological chemist he will find a mass of material of which he never dreamed where these phenomena of surface tension enter in a most direct fashion to leading questions in ...

— College Teaching - Studies in Methods of Teaching in the College • Paul Klapper