Action Results from the Interplay of Adhesive and Cohesive Forces

CAPILLARY ACTION RESULTS FROM THE INTERPLAY OF ADHESIVE AND COHESIVE FORCES 

Adhesive forces between water and glass cause water molecules to creep up the sides of the glass, forming a meniscus. 

We see capillary action at work in many phenomena. If a paintbrush is dipped into water, the water rises into the narrow spaces between the bristles by capillary action. Hang your hair in the bathtub, and water seeps up to your scalp in the same way. This is how oil moves up a lamp wick and how water moves up a bath towel when one end hangs in water. Dip one end of a lump of sugar in coffee, and the entire lump is quickly wet. The capillary action occurring between soil particles is important in bringing water to the roots of plants. 

An astronaut sticks a narrow glass tube into a blob of floating water while in orbit, and the tube fills with water. Why  

Water is drawn up a narrow glass tube by an interplay of adhesive and cohesive forces. 

Was this your answer Capillary action causes the water to be drawn into the tube. In the free-fall environment of an orbiting spacecraft, however, there is no downward force to stop this capillary action. As a result, the water continues to creep along the inner surface of the tube until the tube is filled (and then starts spurting out the end). 

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