Capillary action
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Capillary action (sometimes capillarity, capillary motion, or wicking) is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces without the assistance of, or even in opposition to, external forces like gravity. The effect can be seen in the drawing up of liquids between the hairs of a paint-brush, in a thin tube, in porous materials such as paper and plaster, in some non-porous materials such as sand and liquefied carbon fiber, or in a cell. It occurs because of intermolecular forces between the liquid and surrounding solid surfaces. If the diameter of the tube is sufficiently small, then the combination of surface tension (which is caused by cohesion within the liquid) and adhesive forces between the liquid and container wall act to propel the liquid.
See also
- Bound water
- Capillary fringe
- Capillary pressure
- Capillary wave
- Capillary bridges
- Damp-proof course
- Frost flowers
- Frost heaving
- Hindu milk miracle
- Krogh model
- Needle ice
- Surface tension
- Washburn's equation
- Water
- Wick effect
- Young–Laplace equation
