Consider a glass capillary with uniform and fine bore of radius
r, which is open at both the ends and dipped vertically in a liquid that wets glass. As soon as the capillary tube is dipped in water, the water creeps up along the glass wall due to force of adhesion between water and glass molecules. The adhesion of liquid to the walls of a capillary causes an upward force on the liquid at the edges and results in a meniscus, which turns upward. The surface tension acts to hold the surface intact, so instead of just the edges moving upward, the whole liquid surface is dragged upward. The vertical force due to surface tension pulls the liquid upwards.
Let q be the angle of contact, r be the density and T be the surface tension of the liquid.
The liquid surface is in contact with the walls of the tube all along a horizontal circle called as
circle of contact. If
r is the radius of the capillary tube, then the circumference of the circle of contact is 2p
r.
Since the liquid surface has a tendency to contract, it pulls the tube inward all along the circumference of the circle with a force T acting per unit length. According to Newton's third law of motion, the tube will give an equal and opposite reaction force to the meniscus of the liquid. The reaction N (which equals T) at each point along the circle of contact can be resolved into two rectangular components:
- Horizontal component N sinq acting radially outwards. The horizontal component at any point along the circle of contact is cancelled by an equal and opposite component at other end of the diameter. These components cancel out each other. Moreover, horizontal components cannot be responsible for the vertical rise of the liquid
- Vertical component N cosq acting vertically upwards.
Since all the vertical components N cosq act in the same direction along the circle of contact, the total upward force on the liquid, F = 2p
r� N cosq = 2p
r� T cosq (
..
. N = T) �(1)
As the liquid rises, its weight increases and at a particular height say
'h', the force due to surface tension in the upward direction becomes equal to the weight of the liquid in the downward direction. The liquid then ceases to rise.
The weight of the liquid in the capillary, W = (Volume of cylindrical liquid column of height
h + Volume of the liquid in meniscus) � r �
g,
where
g is the acceleration due to gravity.
Now, volume of cylindrical liquid column = p
r2hFor convenience, we consider the meniscus as to be hemispherical in shape.
Volume of the liquid in the meniscus = Volume of cylinder of height
h and radius
r - Volume of hemisphere = p
r2�
r - 1
4 p
r3 = p
r3 - 2 p
r3 2 3 3 = 1 p
r3 3 Weight of the liquid in the capillary W=
p
r2h + 1 p
r3 W = p
r2 h +
r � r �
g�(2)
3 In the equilibrium position, F = W
Equating equations (1) and (2), we get 2p
r� T cosq = p
r2 h +
r � r �
g 3 T =
r h + r � r �
g 3 �(3)
2cosq When the tube is of very fine bore,
r h.
3
Neglecting
r as compared to
h in equation (3), we get,
3 T =
hr
gr 2cosq
h = 2Tcosq
rr
g This expression is called the
ascent formula.