Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Explain why A drop of liquid under no external forces is always spherical in shape
Advertisements
Solution 1
A liquid tends to acquire the minimum surface area because of the presence of surface tension. The surface area of a sphere is the minimum for a given volume. Hence, under no external forces, liquid drops always take spherical shape.
Solution 2
We know that any system tends to remain in a state of minimum energy. In the absence of any external force for a given volume of liquid its surface area and consequently. Surface energy is least for a spherical shape. It is due to this reason that a liquid drop, in the absence of an external force is spherical in shape
RELATED QUESTIONS
The energy of the free surface of a liquid drop is 5π times the surface tension of the liquid. Find the diameter of the drop in C.G.S. system.
Derive an expression for excess pressure inside a drop of liquid.
The surface tension of water at 0ºc is 75·5 dyne/cm. Find surface tension of water at 25°C. [ α for water = 0·0021/°C ]
Explain why Water with detergent dissolved in it should have small angles of contact.
Figure (a) shows a thin liquid film supporting a small weight = 4.5 × 10–2 N. What is the weight supported by a film of the same liquid at the same temperature in Fig. (b) and (c)? Explain your answer physically.
Consider a small surface area of 1 mm2 at the top of a mercury drop of radius 4.0 mm. Find the force exerted on this area (a) by the air above it (b) by the mercury below it and (c) by the mercury surface in contact with it. Atmospheric pressure = 1.0 × 105 Pa and surface tension of mercury = 0.465 N m−1. Neglect the effect of gravity. Assume all numbers to be exact.
Find the surface energy of water kept in a cylindrical vessel of radius 6.0 cm. Surface tension of water = 0.075 J m−2.
A drop of mercury of radius 2 mm is split into 8 identical droplets. Find the increase in surface energy. Surface tension of mercury = 0.465 J m−2.
The lower end of a capillary tube of radius 1 mm is dipped vertically into mercury. (a) Find the depression of mercury column in the capillary. (b) If the length dipped inside is half the answer of part (a), find the angle made by the mercury surface at the end of the capillary with the vertical. Surface tension of mercury = 0.465 N m−1 and the contact angle of mercury with glass −135 °.
Consider an ice cube of edge 1.0 cm kept in a gravity-free hall. Find the surface area of the water when the ice melts. Neglect the difference in densities of ice and water.
Twenty-seven droplets of water, each of radius 0.1 mm coalesce into a single drop. Find the change in surface energy. Surface tension of water is 0.072 N/m.
Define surface tension.
How is surface tension related to surface energy?
A spherical soap bubble A of radius 2 cm is formed inside another bubble B of radius 4 cm. Show that the radius of a single soap bubble which maintains the same pressure difference as inside the smaller and outside the larger soap bubble is lesser than the radius of both soap bubbles A and B.
Water rises upto a height h in a capillary tube on the surface of the earth. The value of h will increase, if the experimental setup is kept in [g = acceleration due to gravity]
Why is raindrop spherical in nature?
In a U-tube, the radii of two columns are respectively r1 and r2. When a liquid of density ρ(θ = 0°) is filled in it, a level difference of h is observed on two arms, then the surface tension of the liquid is ______.
When an air bubble of radius r rises from the bottom to the surface of a lake, its radius becomes `(5r)/4`. Taking the atmospheric pressure to be equal to the 10 m height of the water column, the depth of the lake would approximately be ______.
(ignore the surface tension and the effect of temperature)
Calculate (i) the pressure due to the weight of the water at a depth of 2.5 m and (ii) the depth below the surface of water at which the pressure due to the weight of the water equals 1.0 atm.
