Hello. Welcome to solsarin. This post is about “what causes capillary action“.
Capillary action (sometimes called capillarity, capillary motion, capillary effect, or wicking) is the process of a liquid flowing in a narrow space without the assistance of, or even in opposition to, any external forces like gravity. The effect can be seen in the drawing up of liquids between the hairs of a paint-brush, in a thin tube, in porous materials such as paper and plaster, in some non-porous materials such as sand and liquefied carbon fiber, or in a biological cell. It occurs because of intermolecular forces between the liquid and surrounding solid surfaces. If the diameter of the tube is sufficiently small, then the combination of surface tension (which is caused by cohesion within the liquid) and adhesive forces between the liquid and container wall act to propel the liquid.
Capillary action occurs because water is sticky, thanks to the forces of cohesion (water molecules like to stay close together) and adhesion (water molecules are attracted and stick to other substances). Adhesion of water to the walls of a vessel will cause an upward force on the liquid at the edges and result in a meniscus which turns upward. The surface tension acts to hold the surface intact. Capillary action occurs when the adhesion to the walls is stronger than the cohesive forces between the liquid molecules. The height to which capillary action will take water in a uniform circular tube (picture to right) is limited by surface tension and, of course, gravity.
Not only does water tend to stick together in a drop, it sticks to glass, cloth, organic tissues, soil, and, luckily, to the fibers in a paper towel. Dip a paper towel into a glass of water and the water will “climb” onto the paper towel. In fact, it will keep going up the towel until the pull of gravity is too much for it to overcome.
Three main variables that determine whether a liquid possesses capillary action are:
Capillary action only occurs when the adhesive forces are stronger than the cohesive forces, which invariably becomes surface tension, in the liquid.
A good way to remember the difference between adhesive and cohesive forces is that with adhesive forces you add another set of molecules, the molecules of the surface, for the liquid to bond with. With cohesive forces, the molecules of the liquid will only cooperate with their own kind. Decreased surface tension also increases capillary action. This is because decreased surface tension means that the intermolecular forces are decreased, thus decreasing cohesive forces. As a result, capillary action will be even greater.
Practical use of capillary action is evident in all forms of our daily lives. It makes performing our tasks efficiently and effectively. Some applications of this unique property include:
If you want to know about “what is the 2nd planet from the sun“, click on it.
An excellent and easy demonstration of capillary action is done by placing a celery stalk in water. Color the water with food coloring and observe the progress of the dye up the celery stalk.
The same process may be used to color white carnations. Trim the bottom of a carnation stem to make sure it can absorb water. Place the flower in dyed water. The color will migrate via capillary action all the way to the flower petals.
A less dramatic but more familiar example of capillary action is the wicking behavior of a paper towel used to wipe up a spill.
Capillary action occurs because of intermolecular forces between the liquid and surrounding solid surfaces. It caused by the pressure of cohesion and adhesion, which cause the liquid to work against gravity.
The effect of capillary action can seen in:
Capillary action has many significant applications like thin layer chromatography, in which a solvent moves vertically up a plate via capillary action. The small pores of a sponge act as small capillaries, causing it to absorb a large amount of fluid. Some textile fabrics said to use capillary action to “wick” sweat away from the skin. These often referred to as wicking fabrics, after the capillary properties of candle and lamp wicks. In brazing, capillary action causes a filler metal to drawn into the space between workpieces.
Water is good at capillary action, better than most liquids. How well a liquid can perform the feat of capillary action depends on cohesion and adhesion. Cohesion is the attraction between particles of the same type. There is strong cohesion in water. One water molecule strongly attracted to another. Adhesion is the attraction between two different particles. The adhesion between water molecules and a plastic straw is also pretty strong.
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