What is surface tension?
Q: What is surface tension?
A: Surface tension is an effect where the surface of a liquid is strong, and can hold up a weight. It causes some small things to be able to float on the surface even though they normally could not, and allows some insects (e.g. water striders) to run on the surface of water.
Q: What causes surface tension?
A: Surface tension is caused by the molecules in the liquid being attracted to each other (cohesion).
Q: What are the dimensions of surface tension?
A: Surface tension has the dimension of force per unit length, or of energy per unit area. The two are equivalent—but when referring to energy per unit of area, people use the term surface energy—which is a more general term in the sense that it applies also to solids and not just liquids.
Q: How does surface tension affect materials science?
A: In materials science, surface tension is used for either surface stress or surface free energy.
Q: How does cohesion contribute to surface tension?
A: Cohesion contributes to surface tension by causing molecules in a liquid to be attracted together, which creates a strong bond at its surfaces that can hold up weight and allow certain objects or creatures (e.g., water striders) to interact with it differently than they would otherwise be able too.
Q: How does this property differ from other properties of liquids?
A: This property differs from other properties of liquids because it affects how objects interact with them on their surfaces rather than within them or through their bulk behavior as a whole.
