Surface Tension Topic

A wire ring at the water surface holds a buoyant cork disc submerged below it, demonstrating that surface tension is a real mechanical force strong enough to overcome buoyancy.

A soap film stretched between two wire rings forms a catenoid -- a minimal surface whose shape results from surface tension minimizing the film's total area.

Water rises to different heights in a set of glass tubes with increasing diameters, directly showing the inverse relationship between capillary rise and tube radius.

Two U-tubes (each with one wide and one narrow arm) show capillary rise with water and capillary depression with mercury, contrasting wetting and non-wetting behavior. **Note: This demo is currently …

Capillary action in narrow tubes draws water over a barrier, initiating siphon flow without external priming. Students observe how surface tension forces at the molecular scale can start macroscopic fluid …