Principle
The force is measured on a ring shortly before a liquid film tears using a torsion meter. The surface tension is calculated from the diameter of the ring and the tear-off force.
Benefits
- High sensitivity measurement possible thanks to ring method
- Analogue set-up that can also be used as a demo experiment in the lecture hall
- Torsion dynamometer used can measure very small forces and is therefore suitable to measure other electrostatic and magnetic interactions between bodies
Tasks
- Determine the surface tension of olive oil as a function of temperature.
- Determine the surface tension of water/methanol mixtures as functions of the mixture ratio.
Learning objectives
- Surface energy
- Interface
- Surface tension
- Adhesion
- Critical point
- Eötvös equation