Surface Tension

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distribution of tension on the thin film of soap, is another
example of this force; surface tension alone can support a needle placed
horizontally on a water surface.

Surface tension depends mainly upon the forces attraction between the
particles within the given liquid and also upon the gas, solid, or liquid in
contact with it. The molecules in a drop of water, for example, attract each
other weakly. Water molecules well inside the drop may be thought of as being
attracted equally in all directions by the surrounding molecules. However if
surface molecules could be displaced slightly outward from the surface, they
would be attracted back by the near by molecules. The energy responsible for
the phenomenon of surface tension may be thought of as approximately equilivant
to the work or energy required to remove the surface layer of molecules in a
unit area. In comparison, organic liquids, such as benzene and alcohol's, have
lower surface tensions, whereas mercury has a higher ...

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