Capillary action

When a small-diameter glass tube, or capillary, is placed in water, water rises in the tube. The rise of liquids up very narrow tubes is called capillary action. The adhesive forces between the liquid and the walls of the tube tend to increase the surface area of the liquid. The siuface tension of the Uquid tends to reduce the area, thereby pulling the Uquid up the tube. The Uquid climbs until the force of gravity on the Uquid balcuices the adhesive and cohesive forces. CapiUary action is widespread. For example, towels absorb Uquid and stay-dry synthetic fabrics move sweat away from the skin by capillary action. Capillary action also plays a role in moving water and dissolved nutrients upward through plants. 

Coating glass with a silicone polymer greatly reduces the adhesion of water to the glass. The left side of each glass has been treated with Raln-X , which contains a silicone polymer. Water on the treated side forms droplets that are easily swept away. 

Unless otherwise noted, all content on this page is Cengage Learning. 

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F. Bashforth and J. C. Adams, An Attempt to Test the Theories of Capillary Action, University Press, Cambridge, England, 1883. 

This equation describes the additional amount of gas adsorbed into the pores due to capillary action. In this case, V is the molar volume of the gas, y its surface tension, R the gas constant, T absolute temperature and r the Kelvin radius. The distribution in the sizes of micropores may be detenninated using the Horvath-Kawazoe method [19]. If the sample has both micropores and mesopores, then the J-plot calculation may be used [20]. The J-plot is obtained by plotting the volume adsorbed against the statistical thickness of adsorbate. This thickness is derived from the surface area of a non-porous sample, and the volume of the liquified gas. 

Densification during liquid-phase sintering occurs in tliree stages. Initially, liquid fonns at particle intersections and redistributes tliroughout the particulate mass under the influence of the capillary action. Shear stresses due to the... 

A drop of an aqueous solution of the mixture to be separated is now placed near the bottom of the paper strip and allowed to evaporate in the air. The strip is now again suspended in the closed cylinder, but with the bottom of the strip just immersed in the solvent. The capillary action of the paper will cause the solvent to rise steadily up the strip, and during this process the solvent, which now contains the mixture in solution, is continuously extracted by the retained water molecules in the paper. A highly hydrophobic (water-repellent) solute will move up closely behind the solvent-front, whereas a highly hydrophilic solute will barely leave the original point where the drop of the mixed solutes in solution has been dried. In an intermediate case,... 

The mixture to be separated is dissolved in a suitable solvent and spotted on to a pencilled line at the bottom of the t.l.c. plate, ca. i o-i 5 cm. from the end. A suitable dropping tube may he made by drawing out the middle of a m.p. tube with a micro-burner and breaking the tube in the middle. The dropper is filled by capillary action and is discharged when the liquid at the tip drops on to the untouched absorbent surface the spot should be 2 5 mm. in diameter. 

The chief disadvantages of the latter are (i) the necessity for boiling the mercury to remove the air from the closed reference tube when filling the gauge, (ii) the tendency for air to enter the closed limb after a period of time, and (iii) the difficulty of precision reading due to the capillary action in the... 

There are three types of Hquid content in a packed bed (/) in a submerged bed, there is Hquid filling the larger channels, pores, and interstitial spaces (2) in a drained bed, there is Hquid held by capillary action and surface tension at points of particle contact, or near-contact, as weU as a zone saturated with Hquid corresponding to a capillary height in the bed at the Hquid discharge face of the cake and (3) essentially undrainable Hquid exists within the body of each particle or in fine, deep pores without free access to the surface except perhaps by diffusion or compaction. 

Directed Oxidation of a Molten Metal. Directed oxidation of a molten metal or the Lanxide process (45,68,91) involves the reaction of a molten metal with a gaseous oxidant, eg, A1 with O2 in air, to form a porous three-dimensional oxide that grows outward from the metal/ceramic surface. The process proceeds via capillary action as the molten metal wicks into open pore channels in the oxide scale growth. Reinforced ceramic matrix composites can be formed by positioning inert filler materials, eg, fibers, whiskers, and/or particulates, in the path of the oxide scale growth. The resultant composite is comprised of both interconnected metal and ceramic. Typically 5—30 vol % metal remains after processing. The composite product maintains many of the desirable properties of a ceramic however, the presence of the metal serves to increase the fracture toughness of the composite. 

Vitreous ceramics are made waterproof and strengthened by glazing. A slurry of powdered glass is applied to the surface by spraying or dipping, and the part is refired at a lower temperature (typically 800°C). The glass melts, flows over the surface, and is drawn by capillary action into pores and microcracks, sealing them. 

Absorption - Processes water can be removed from a material by the capillary action of porous bodies. An example is the cream of clay and water used for casting pottery, which is deprived of the greater part of its water by placing it in molds of plaster of Paris. The capillary character of this mold withdraws the water from the liquid clay mixture and deposits upon itself a layer of solid clay, the thickness of which is controlled by the time of standing. Certain types of candies, such as gumdrops, are dried mainly by contact with the starch molds in which they are cast. The drying effect of sponges, towels and materials of this kind is due to this same action. 

Surface evaporation can be a limiting factor in the manufacture of many types of products. In the drying of paper, chrome leather, certain types of synthetic rubbers and similar materials, the sheets possess a finely fibrous structure which distributes the moisture through them by capillary action, thus securing very rapid diffusion of moisture from one point of the sheet to another. This means that it is almost impossible to remove moisture from the surface of the sheet without having it immediately replaced by capillary diffusion from the interior. The drying of sheetlike materials is essentially a process of surface evaporation. Note that with porous materials, evaporation may occur within the solid. In a porous material that is characterized by pores of diverse sizes, the movement of water may be controlled by capillarity, and not by concentration gradients. 

Surface tension is the property of a fluid that produces capillary action, the rise and fall in a tube. 

We will cover a simple drying model to examine the radiation drier of coated paper. We assume there are no major temperature or humidity variations in the direction of the paper web thickness, and that temperature T and humidity u are constant in the direction of thickness. This assumption requires that the capillary action be ignored, and the pressure gradient of water is zero on the assumption hu/dx = dT/dx = 0. How is it possible that the humidity distribution remains uniform ... 

Washer, air A device for adding moisrure to an air stream by means of spray or capillary action. This term should not be used to relate to any wet cleaning process of a gas or other air stream. 

The main origin of multidimensional chromatography lies in planar chromatography. The development of paper chromatography, i.e. the partition between a liquid moving by capillary action across a strip of paper impregnated with a second liquid... 

A theoretical model whereby maximum peak capacity could be achieved by the use of 3-D planar chromatographic separation was proposed by Guiochon and coworkers (23-27). Unfortunately, until now, because of technical problems, this idea could not be realized in practice. Very recently, however, a special stationary phase, namely Empore silica TLC sheets, has now become available for realization of 3-D PC. This stationary phase, developed as a new separation medium for planar chromatography, contains silica entrapped in an inert matrix of polytetrafluoroethy-lene (PTFE) microfibrils. It has been established that the separating power is only ca. 60% of that of conventional TLC (28) this has been attributed to the very slow solvent migration velocity resulting from capillary action. 

Chromatographic plates can be connected for both capillary-controlled and forced-flow planar chromatography (FFPC), i.e. irrespective of whether capillary action or forced-flow is the driving force for the separation. The first technique is denoted as grafted planar chromatography (31), while the second is known as long distance (LD) OPLC, which uses heterolayers (32, 33). 

KapiUarititt, /. capillarity. Kapillaritittsanziehung./. capillary attraction. Kapillar-kraft,/, capillary force, -kreislauf, n. capillary circulation, -rohr, -rohrchen, n, -rohre, /. capillary tube, -spaonung, /. capillary tension, -stromung, /. capillary flow, -versuch, m. capillary test or experiment. -wirkung./. capillary action. 

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