THE PRACTICE STUDIO
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PRACTICE / Capillarity
Read the sign at a depressed meniscus
A liquid in a narrow vertical tube has contact angle 120°, surface tension 0.060 N/m, density 800 kg/m³ and tube radius 0.30 mm. The tube and reservoir share the same gas pressure. Take g = 10 m/s² and neglect meniscus volume.
What is liquid pressure just beneath the meniscus minus gas pressure above it?
Organize the givens & assumptions
- θ = 120°
- S = 0.060 N/m
- r = 0.30 mm
- ρ = 800 kg/m³
- g = 10 m/s²
Static or initially equilibrated interfaces, constant uniform surface tension, negligible gravity-induced shape distortion where spherical or cylindrical curvature is specified, and negligible evaporation. Capillary heights use the narrow-tube model with equal gas pressures and a large reservoir.
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