Surface Tension and Water

Floating paper clip made of steel with copper plating. The high surface tension helps the paper clip -
with much higher density - float on the water.

Surface tension

The property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force, due to the cohesive
nature of its molecules.

The cohesive forces between liquid molecules are responsible for the phenomenon known as surface
tension. The molecules at the surface of a glass of water do not have other water molecules on all sides
of them and consequently they cohere more strongly to those directly associated with them (in this
case, next to and below them, but not above). It is not really true that a "skin" forms on the water
surface; the stronger cohesion between the water molecules as opposed to the attraction of the water
molecules to the air makes it more difficult to move an object through the surface than to move it when
it is completely submersed. (Source: GSU).

Cohesion and Surface Tension

The cohesive forces between molecules in a liquid are shared with all neighboring molecules. Those on
the surface have no neighboring molecules above and, thus, exhibit stronger attractive forces upon their
nearest neighbors on and below the surface. Surface tension could be defined as the property of the
surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force, due to the cohesive nature of the water
molecules.

Surface tension at a molecular level

 Water molecules want to cling to each other. At the
surface, however, there are fewer water molecules to cling to since there is air above (thus, no water
molecules). This results in a stronger bond between those molecules that actually do come in contact
with one another, and a layer of strongly bonded water (see diagram). This surface layer (held together
by surface tension) creates a considerable barrier between the atmosphere and the water. In fact, other
than mercury, water has the greatest surface tension of any liquid. (Source: Lakes of Missouri)

Within a body of a liquid, a molecule will not experience a net force because the forces by the
neighboring molecules all cancel out (diagram). However for a molecule on the surface of the liquid,
there will be a net inward force since there will be no attractive force acting from above. This inward net
force causes the molecules on the surface to contract and to resist being stretched or broken. Thus the
surface is under tension, which is probably where the name "surface tension" came from. (Source:
Woodrow Wilson Foundation).

Due to the surface tension, small objects will "float" on the surface of a fluid, as long as the object
cannot break through and separate the top layer of water molecules. When an object is on the surface
of the fluid, the surface under tension will behave like an elastic membrane.

Examples of surface tension

Walking on water: Small insects such as the water strider can walk on water
because their weight is not enough to penetrate the surface.

Floating a needle: A carefully placed small needle can be made to float on the surface of water even
though it is several times as dense as water. If the surface is agitated to break up the surface tension,
then needle will quickly sink.
Don't touch the tent!: Common tent materials are somewhat rainproof in that the surface tension of
water will bridge the pores in the finely woven material. But if you touch the tent material with your
finger, you break the surface tension and the rain will drip through.

Clinical test for jaundice: Normal urine has a surface tension of about 66 dynes/centimeter but if bile is
present (a test for jaundice), it drops to about 55. In the Hay test, powdered sulfur is sprinkled on the
urine surface. It will float on normal urine, but will sink if the surface tension is lowered by the bile.

Surface tension disinfectants: Disinfectants are usually solutions of low surface tension. This allow them
to spread out on the cell walls of bacteria and disrupt them.

Soaps and detergents: These help the cleaning of clothes by lowering the surface tension of the water so
that it more readily soaks into pores and soiled areas.

Washing with cold water: The major reason for using hot water for washing is that its surface tension is
lower and it is a better wetting agent. But if the detergent lowers the surface tension, the heating may
be unneccessary.

Why bubbles are round: The surface tension of water provides the necessary wall tension for the
formation of bubbles with water. The tendency to minimize that wall tension pulls the bubbles into
spherical shapes.

Surface Tension and Droplets: Surface tension is responsible for the shape of liquid droplets. Although
easily deformed, droplets of water tend to be pulled into a spherical shape by the cohesive forces of the
surface layer.

Vapor Pressure and Water

Your nose knows about vapor pressure

Vapor pressure

The equilibrium pressure, in a closed container, between molecules moving between the liquid and
gaseous phases.
So, what do turnip greens, your nose, and vapor pressure have in common? To try to explain vapor
pressure to you, maybe the best place to start is your nose. Assuming that the gentleman in this picture
does not care for the smell of turnip greens, he is adjusting the vapor pressure to help keep the smell
down (sorry, no thermostat-like device really exists that would actually allow you to adjust the vapor
pressure for your whole house, but it would be handy, right?). The vapor pressure of liquids helps to
determine the extent to which molecules in the liquid stay as liquid or escape into the air as gas or
vapor.

As far as your nose is concerned, when you boil water to cook a delicious pot of turnip greens, the
added heat in the pot energizes the water molecules so that some of them escape into the kitchen air as
gas. Indirectly, the smell of turnips will escape into the air, too, which is why you smell that turnip aroma
when you boil them in water. The added heat raises the normal vapor pressure of water, with the result
being water vapor wafting through the kitchen, and with it, the smell of turnips.

The example above is a little deceptive as when water boils water vapor is released, but not necessarily
"turnip vapor". But, the higher heat and agitation of boiling water helps to break down molecules in the
turnips and those are released as particles into the air with the water vapor. So, you're not really
smelling the water vapor, but you are smelling tiny bits of turnips. The same concept does hold true for
various liquids, and here vapor pressure does explain why you smell some liquids more readily than
others.

An explanation of vapor pressure

Vapor pressure is constant when there is an equilibrium of water molecules moving between the liquid
phase and the gaseous phase, in a closed container.

The vapor pressure of a liquid is the point at which equilibrium pressure is reached, in a closed
container, between molecules leaving the liquid and going into the gaseous phase and molecules leaving
the gaseous phase and entering the liquid phase. Note the mention of a "closed container". In an open
container the molecules in the gaseous phase will just fly off and an equilibrium would not be reached,
as many fewer gaseous molecules would be re-entering the liquid phase. Also note that at equilibrium
the movement of molecules between liquid and gas does not stop, but the number of molecules in the
gaseous phase stays the same—there is always movement between phases. So, at equilibrium there is a
certain concentration of molecules in the gaseous phase; the pressure the gas is exerting is the vapor
pressure. As for vapor pressure being higher at higher temperatures, when the temperature of a liquid is
raised, the added energy in the liquid gives the molecules more energy and they have greater ability to
escape the liquid phase and go into the gaseous phase.

Turnip greens in a hurry

If you wanted to cook your turnip greens quicker you would want the
water temperature to be higher. But, in an open container, water boils at 212°F (at sea level), and if you
continue to heat the water you will release more molecules as water vapor but the temperature of the
water won't go higher than 212°. Now, this assumes you live at sea level, since as the higher your
kitchen is above sea level, the lower the air pressure pushing down on the water in the pot of turnip
greens, and the lower the vapor pressure, and thus, the water will boil at a lower temperature. That is
why it takes longer to cook food at higher altitudes.

The point is, in an open container once water reaches the boiling point it will not get hotter. You can use
vapor pressure to "trick" your turnip greens, though, by using a closed container to cook in—known as a
pressure cooker. Pressure cookers have lids that can be secured to the pot which prevents steam from
escaping the pot, which raises the pressure of the vapor inside the container. There is a pressure-release
valve on the top of the pot to prevent pressures from getting so high that the pot explodes (although
there are many instances of the valve malfunctioning with the disastrous effect being a pot that literally
explodes). We mentioned that with a higher vapor pressure higher water temperatures can be reached,
meaning that in a pressure cooker the vapor pressure is much higher and thus, the water doesn't boil
until it reaches a higher temperature, which cooks the food faster.
Capillary action

Even if you've never heard of capillary action, it is still important in your life.
Capillary action is important for moving water (and all of the things that are dissolved in it) around. It is
defined as the movement of water within the spaces of a porous material due to the forces of adhesion,
cohesion, and surface tension.

Capillary action seen as water climbs to different levels in glass tubes of different diameters. Credit: Dr.
Clay Robinson, PhD, West Texas A&M University.

Capillary action occurs because water is sticky, thanks to the forces of cohesion (water molecules like to
stay close together) and adhesion (water molecules are attracted and stick to other substances).
Adhesion of water to the walls of a vessel will cause an upward force on the liquid at the edges and
result in a meniscus which turns upward. The surface tension acts to hold the surface intact. Capillary
action occurs when the adhesion to the walls is stronger than the cohesive forces between the liquid
molecules. The height to which capillary action will take water in a uniform circular tube (picture to left)
is limited by surface tension and, of course, gravity.

Not only does water tend to stick together in a drop, it sticks to glass, cloth, organic tissues, soil, and,
luckily, to the fibers in a paper towel. Dip a paper towel into a glass of water and the water will "climb"
onto the paper towel. In fact, it will keep going up the towel until the pull of gravity is too much for it to
overcome.

Capillary action is all around us every day

People use paper towels (and thus, capillary action) to wipe up liquid spills. Everyone, including Mona
Lisa, benefits from capillary action.
Credit: USDA; Howard Perlman

When you spill your glass of BubblyBerryPowerGo (which is, of course, mostly water) on the kitchen
table you rush to get a paper towel to wipe it up. First, you can thank surface tension, which keeps the
liquid in a nice puddle on the table, instead of a thin film of sugary goo that spreads out onto the floor.
When you put the paper towel onto your mess the liquid adheres itself to the paper fibers and the liquid
moves to the spaces between and inside of the fibers.
Obviously, Mona Lisa is a fan of capillary action.

Plants and trees couldn't thrive without capillary action. Plants put down roots into the soil which are
capable of carrying water from the soil up into the plant. Water, which contains dissolved nutrients, gets
inside the roots and starts climbing up the plant tissue. Capillary action helps bring water up into the
roots. But capillary action can only "pull" water up a small distance, after which it cannot overcome
gravity. To get water up to all the branches and leaves, the forces of adhesion and cohesion go to work
in the plant's xylem to move water to the furthest leaf.

Capillary action is also essential for the drainage of constantly produced tear fluid from the eye. Two
tiny-diameter tubes, the lacrimal ducts, are present in the inner corner of the eyelid; these ducts secrete
tears into the eye. (Wikipedia)

Maybe you've used a fountain pen .... or maybe your parents or grandparents did. The ink moves from a
reservoir in the body of the pen down to the tip and into the paper (which is composed of tiny paper
fibers and air spaces between them), and not just turning into a blob. Of course gravity is responsible for
the ink moving "downhill" to the pen tip, but capillary action is needed to keep the ink flowing onto the
paper.

The proof is in the pudding ... I mean, in the celery

You can see capillary action in action (although slowly) by doing an experiment where you place the
bottom of a celery stalk in a glass of water with food coloring and watch for the movement of the color
to the top leaves of the celery. You might want to use a piece of celery that has begun to whither, as it is
in need of a quick drink. It can take a few days, but, as these pictures show, the colored water is "drawn"
upward, against the pull of gravity. This effect happens because, in plants, water molecules move
through narrow tubes that are called capillaries (or xylem).

A fresh-cut stalk of celery is placed into a glass of water that has been colored with food coloring.

You can see results in a day or two, but here are the results after a week.
Bulk Modulus

Alternative Title: incompressibility

Bulk modulus, numerical constant that describes the elastic properties of a solid or fluid when it is
under pressure on all surfaces. The applied pressure reduces the volume of a material, which returns to
its original volume when the pressure is removed. Sometimes referred to as the incompressibility, the
bulk modulus is a measure of the ability of a substance to withstand changes in volume when under
compression on all sides. It is equal to the quotient of the applied pressure divided by the relative
deformation.

In this case, the relative deformation, commonly called strain, is the change in volume divided by the
original volume. Thus, if the original volume Vo of a material is reduced by an applied pressure p to a
new volume Vn, the strain may be expressed as the change in volume, Vo − Vn, divided by the original
volume, or (Vo − Vn)/Vo. The bulk modulus itself, which, by definition, is the pressure divided by the
strain, may be expressed mathematically as

When the bulk modulus is constant (independent of pressure), this is a specific form of Hooke’s
law of elasticity.

Because the denominator, strain, is a ratio without dimensions, the dimensions of the bulk modulus are
those of pressure, force per unit area. In the English system the bulk modulus may be expressed in units
of pounds per square inch (usually abbreviated to psi), and in the metric system, newtons per square
metre (N/m2), or pascals.

The value of the bulk modulus for steel is about 2.3 × 107 psi, or 1.6 × 1011 pascals, three times the
value for glass. Thus, only one-third the pressure is needed to reduce a glass sphere the same amount as
a steel sphere of the same initial size. Under equal pressure, the proportional decrease in volume of
glass is three times that of steel. One may also say that glass is three times more compressible than
steel. In fact, compressibility is defined as the reciprocal of the bulk modulus. A substance that is difficult
to compress has a large bulk modulus but a small compressibility. A substance that is easy to compress
has a high compressibility but a low bulk modulus.
Coefficient of Compressibility

(Or compressibility.) The relative decrease of the volume of a system with increasing pressure in
an isothermal process.

This coefficient is

where V is the volume, p the pressure, and T the temperature. The reciprocal of this quantity is the bulk
modulus.
Compare coefficient of thermal expansion, coefficient of tension.

Pascal's Law

Pascal's law was established by a Frenchman named Blaise Pascal. It states that pressure applied
anywhere in a confined incompressible fluid is transmitted equally in all directions throughout the fluid.

Pascal's principle applies to all liquids and gases. One typical application can be found in most
automotive repair shops that have a lift. Basically, air from an air compressor is applied to the top of the
oil in a container and the oil then applies pressure to a sleeve/piston that lifts the car. This is the same
principle found when using a hydraulic jack at home. However, the smaller cylinder must travel much
farther than the larger lift cylinder.

This allows the lifting of a heavy load with a small force, as in an auto hydraulic life, but of course there
can be no multiplication of work, so in an ideal case with no friction loss:
Pressure head

In fluid mechanics, pressure head is the internal energy of a fluid due to the pressure exerted on its
container. It may also be called static pressure head or simply static head (but not static head pressure).
It is mathematically expressed as:

where

is pressure head (length, typically in units of m);

is fluid pressure (force per unit area, often as Pa units); and

is the specific weight (force per unit volume, typically N/m3 units)

is the density of the fluid (mass per unit volume, typically kg/m3)

is acceleration due to gravity (rate of change of velocity, given in m/s2)

 Fluid flow is measured with a wide variety of instruments. The venturi meter in
the diagram on the left shows two columns of a measurement fluid at different
heights. The height of each column of fluid is proportional to the pressure of the
fluid. To demonstrate a classical measurement of pressure head, we could
hypothetically replace the working fluid with another fluid having
different physical properties.
For example, if the original fluid was water and we replaced it with mercury at
the same pressure, we would expect to see a rather different value for pressure
head. In fact the specific weight of water is 9.8 kN/m3 and the specific weight of
mercury is 133 kN/m3. So, for any particular measurement of pressure head, the
height of a column of water will be about [133/9.8 = 13.6] 13.6 times taller than
a column of mercury would be. So if a water column meter reads "13.6 cm
H2O", then an equivalent measurement is "1.00 cm Hg".
This example demonstrates why there is some confusion surrounding pressure
head and its relationship to pressure. Scientists frequently use columns of water
(or mercury) to measure pressure (manometric pressure measurement), since
for a given fluid, pressure head is proportional to pressure. Measuring pressure
in units of "mm of mercury" or "inches of water" makes sense
for instrumentation, but these raw measurements of head must frequently be
converted to more convenient pressure units using the equations above to solve
for pressure.
In summary pressure head is a measurement of length, which can be
converted to the units of pressure (force per unit area), as long as strict
attention is paid to the density of the measurement fluid and the local value of g.

Absolute, Gage, Vacuum, and Atmospheric Pressures

Quick
absolute pressure - The actual pressure at a given position is called the absolute
pressure, and it is measured relative to absolute vacuum (i.e., absolute zero pressure).
gage pressure - Gage pressure is the pressure relative to the atmospheric pressure. In
other words, how much above or below is the pressure with respect to the atmospheric
pressure.
vacuum pressure - Pressures below atmospheric pressure are called vacuum
pressures and are measured by vacuum gages that indicate the difference between the
atmospheric pressure and the absolute pressure.
atmospheric pressure - The atmospheric pressure is the pressure that an area
experiences due to the force exerted by the atmosphere.
Equations
Pgage = Pabs − Patm gage pressure
Pvac = Patm − Pabs vacuum pressure
Pabs = Patm + Pgage absolute pressure

Nomenclature
Pabs absolute pressure
Pgage gage pressure
Pvac vacuum pressure
Patm atmospheric pressure

Details
The atmospheric pressure is the pressure that an area experiences due to the force exerted by the
atmosphere. For engineering calculations typically the pressure used is the pressure at sea level.
Typically, the quantity used for engineering calculations is 1 atm, or 101 kPa. Gage pressure is the
pressure relative to the atmospheric pressure. In other words, how much above or below is the pressure
with respect to the atmospheric pressure. Absolute pressure is the sum of the atmospheric pressure and
the gage pressure. If the gage pressure has a positive value, the absolute pressure will be greater than
the atmospheric pressure. If the gage pressure has a negative value, the absolute pressure will be less
than the atmospheric pressure. Absolute pressure can be abbreviated by Pabs, or just P.

The actual pressure at a given position is called the absolute pressure, and it is measured
relative to absolute vacuum (i.e., absolute zero pressure). Most pressure-measuring devices, however,
are calibrated to read zero in the atmosphere, and so they indicate the difference between the absolute
pressure and the local atmospheric pressure. This difference is called the gage pressure. Pressures
below atmospheric pressure are called vacuum pressures and are measured by vacuum gages that
indicate the difference between the atmospheric pressure and the absolute pressure.

Like other pressure gages, the gage used to measure the air pressure in an automobile tire reads the
gage pressure. Therefore, the common reading of 32 psi (2.25 kgf/cm2) indicates a pressure of 32 psi
above the atmospheric pressure.

With respect to thermodynamic relations and tables, absolute pressure is almost always used. Often the
letters "a" (for absolute pressure) and "g" (for gage pressure) are added to pressure units (such as psia
and psig) to clarify what is meant.

Pressure

Pressure is defined as force per unit area. It is usually more convenient to use pressure rather than force
to describe the influences upon fluid behavior. The standard unit for pressure is the Pascal, which is a
Newton per square meter.

For an object sitting on a surface, the force pressing on the surface is the weight of the object, but in
different orientations it might have a different area in contact with the surface and therefore exert a
different pressure.

Pressure calculation.

There are many physical situations where pressure is the most important variable. If you are peeling an
apple, then pressure is the key variable: if the knife is sharp, then the area of contact is small and you
can peel with less force exerted on the blade. If you must get an injection, then pressure is the most
important variable in getting the needle through your skin: it is better to have a sharp needle than a dull
one since the smaller area of contact implies that less force is required to push the needle through the
skin.

When you deal with the pressure of a liquid at rest, the medium is treated as a continuous distribution
of matter. But when you deal with a gas pressure, it must be approached as an average pressure from
molecular collisions with the walls.

Pressure in a fluid can be seen to be a measure of energy per unit volume by means of the definition
of work. This energy is related to other forms of fluid energy by the Bernoulli equation.
Barometer

Barometer, device used to measure atmospheric pressure. Because atmospheric pressure changes with
distance above or below sea level, a barometer can also be used to measure altitude. There are two
main types of barometers: mercury and aneroid.

In the mercury barometer, atmospheric pressure balances a column of mercury, the height of which can
be precisely measured. To increase their accuracy, mercury barometers are often corrected for ambient
temperature and the local value of gravity. Common pressure units include pounds per square inch;
dynes per square centimetre; newtons per square metre (the SI unit called the pascal); inches,
centimetres, or millimetres of mercury; and millibars (1 millibar equals 1,000 dynes per
square centimetre, 100 pascals, or 0.75 millimetre of mercury). Atmospheric pressure at sea level is
about 14.7 pounds per square inch, equivalent to 30 inches (760 millimetres) of mercury, 1,013.2
millibars, or 101,320 pascals.

Of the many different varieties of mercury barometers, most variations arise from different techniques
for measuring the height of the mercury column. Though other liquids can be used in a barometer,
mercury is the most common. Its density allows the vertical column of the barometer to be of
manageable size. If water were used, for instance, the column would have to be 34 feet high.

A nonliquid barometer called the aneroid barometer is widely used in portable instruments and in
aircraft altimeters because of its smaller size and convenience. It contains a flexible-walled evacuated
capsule, the wall of which deflects with changes in atmospheric pressure. This deflection is coupled
mechanically to an indicating needle. A mercury barometer is used to calibrate and check aneroid
barometers. Calibration can be, for example, in terms of atmospheric pressure or altitude above sea
level. The concept of altitude above sea level, based on barometric pressure, is used to create one type
of aircraft altimeter.

A barometer that mechanically records changes in barometric pressure over time is called a barograph.
Though mercury barographs have been made, aneroid barographs are much more common. The motion
of the aneroid capsule is magnified through levers to drive a recording pen. The pen traces a line on a
graph that is usually wrapped around a cylinder driven by a clockwork mechanism.