Please wait...
Contact Us
Contact
Need assistance? Contact us on below numbers

For Study plan details

93219 24448 / 89292 63204

10:00 AM to 7:00 PM IST all days.

For Franchisee Enquiry

81783 72169
OR

Chat with us on WhatsApp

or

Thanks, You will receive a call shortly.
Customer Support

You are very important to us

For any content/service related issues please contact on this number

93219 24448 / 99871 78554

Mon to Sat - 10 AM to 7 PM

Home / Doubts and Solutions/JEE/Physics

What is surface tension? 

Asked by jwmfrf 29th June 2018, 11:13 AM
Answered by Expert
Answer:
A liquid stays together because of attraction between molecules. Inside liquid, intermoleculer distances are such that it is attracted to all the surrounding molecules. This attraction reults in a negative potential energy for the molecule. But in the case of molecule near the surface, only lower half of it is surrounded by liquid molecules. There is some negative potential energy due to these, but obviously it is less than that of a molecule fully inside. Approximately it is half of the latter. Thus molecules on a liquid surface have some extra energy in comparison to molecules in the interior. A liquid thus tends to have the least surface area which external conditions permit. Increasing surface area requires energy. Creation of more surface (spreading of surface) by keeping volume fixed requires additional energy. This surface energy per unit area of the liquid interface is know as surface tension. This is also equal to force per unit length exerted by an imaginary line on the liquid surface.
Answered by Expert 29th June 2018, 2:34 PM
Rate this answer
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10

You have rated this answer /10

Report an issue
Tags: surface-tension
Previous Question
Next Question
Your answer has been posted successfully!

Free related questions

If the surface tension of water is 7.3×10‐²N/m then what is the excess pressure inside a spherical drop of water of radius 0.1 m?
11th April 2022, 11:23 AM
does ch3oh have more surface tension than c2h5oh since the surface tension of hydrocarbons is low and since the number of c atoms in c2h5oh is more ? kindly explain in detail if my theory is wrong . 
30th May 2022, 9:28 PM
An air bubble of diameter, d = 4µm is located in water at a depth h = 5.0m Considering standard atmospheric prssure as 1 atm, find the pressure in the air - bubble? (S=0.07 N/m)
10th January 2024, 4:11 PM
not getting answer correct.
30th March 2024, 6:07 PM
RELATED STUDY RESOURCES :
JEE QUESTION ANSWERS

Browse free questions and answers by Chapters

Trending Tags

trigonometric equations Mole concept linear equations trigonometric ratios functions circle quadratic equation matrix operations integration equivalent resistance

Latest Questions

CBSE X Biology
What is enzyme  
Asked by Sureshgowdayd548 28th October 2020, 10:50 PM
JEE Main Mathematics
The following pseudocode is executed using the “Paragraph words” dataset. At the end of the execution, CountB captures the number of verbs with letter count less than the average letter count of verbs. But the pseudocode may have mistakes in one or more lines. Identify all such lines (if any). It is a Multiple Select Question (MSQ).  Error in Line 4  Error in Line 8  Error in Line 11  Error at Line 12  Error in Line 17  Error at Line 18  Error in Line 21 The following pseudocode is executed using the “Words” table. What will be the value of A at the end of the execution?
Asked by amaladelsingh 28th October 2020, 10:24 PM
CBSE X Biology
I want a brief clarity on Taxonomy
Asked by reenacharan2008 28th October 2020, 9:11 PM

Chat with us on WhatsApp