What Is Capillary Action?
The ascent or rise of liquids through a tube or cylinder with a small diameter is caused by the phenomenon called the Capillary Action. Adhesive and cohesive forces are responsible for capillary action. The liquid will ascend higher if the tube is narrower. If the surface tension, ratio between the cohesion to adhesion force increases the capillary action of the liquid also increases.
The amount of the liquid that surrounds the capillary tube is also responsible for how much the water will rise in the capillary. Groundwater moves through the various zones of soils as a result of capillary action. Capillary action also plays a role in the movement of fluids within a plant’s xylem vessels. Water from the roots and lower levels of the plant is drawn up as the water on the surface of the leaves evaporates.
Fundamentally, liquids have the ability to be pulled into tiny opening, as those between sand grain, and the rise of liquid in the thin tubes. Capillarity or capillary action occurs as a result of the intermolecular force of attraction that exists between solids and liquids.
Capillary Action Definition
Capillary Action also called the capillary motion is the rise of the liquid in the narrow spaces or thin tubes without external forces pulling that liquid. This liquid moves the narrow tubes because of the intermolecular forces, i.e. Cohesion and Adhesion forces.
Capillary Action
Capillary Action in Physics is the action of the liquid in the capillary tubes. Capillary tubes, which are narrow cylindrical tubes, have very small diameters. It is observed that the liquid in the capillary either rises (or) decreases in relation to the level of the surrounding liquid when these tiny tubes are submerged in a liquid. The action of these liquids is called the capillary action and it is an important phenomenon in physics.
Capillary action is caused by the intermolecular attraction of the water molecules and the adhesive force between the capillary walls and the liquid. In this article, we will learn about Capillary Action, the Capillary Action Formula, Its derivation, examples, and others in detail.
Table of Content
- What Is Capillary Action?
- Capillary Action Formula
- Forces in Capillary Action
- Liquid Meniscus in Capillarity
- Difference between Concave, Convex and Plane Meniscus
- Applications of Capillarity
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