Capillary Action from the Forces of Adhesion and Cohesion

Chemistry, Plants
What is capillary action? The easiest way to define it is to give the simplest example of it at work. A capillary is a tube with a fine bore, typically less than a millimeter. For the purpose of our discussion, we will use a scientist's glass capillary tube, which is both straight and clear. The liquids we will discuss as examples are water and mercury. Not All Liquids Exhibit Capillary Action Take note of Figure 1. Two capillary tubes (not drawn to scale) are immersed in liquid – the left tube in water, the right in mercury. The water rises up its tube and forms a concave meniscus at top. The mercury does not rise up its tube. It forms what looks like the upper portion of a sphere –…
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