What is Surface Tension
What is Surface Tension? We know that a tension in the free surface of a liquid is familiar as an explanation of the tendency of a liquid surface to assume the form having a minimum area, as shown in the shape of a bubble or a drop of liquid. The surface tension of a liquid causes the surface to tend to contract, making it behave as if its surface is enclosed in an elastic skin. We also know that the values of the surface tension are different for various liquids (Ma 410). For example, these values include resin cement with metal affinity, Panavia Ex, which has the highest surface tension value of 107. ... The cohesive forces between liquid molecules are responsible for the phenomenon known as surface tension. The molecules at the surface do not have other like molecules on all sides of them and consequently they cohere more strongly to those directly associated with them on the surface. This forms a surface "film" which makes it more difficult to move an object through the surface than to move it when it is completely submersed. Surface tension is typically measured in dynes/cm, the force in dynes required to break a film of length 1 cm.