The tensile strength of liquids

Under certain conditions liquids are able to sustain large tensions. One way in which this can be demonstrated is due to Berthelot. A cylindrical tube is almost filled with liquid, the remainder of the space being air and liquid vapour, and is then sealed. When the temperature of the tube is raised the liquid expands faster than the tube and forces the air into solution so that, at a certain temperature 7, the liquid fills the tube completely. The tube is then allowed to cool. During this cooling the liquid adheres to the walls of the tube and continues to fill this tube completely until a temperature ( is reached, when the liquid ruptures as a result of the tension set up in it as its temperature is lowered. At the instant at which the rupture occurs the release of tension is accompanied by a click and a sudden increase in the radius of 

An alternative method is to rotate a Z-shaped capillary tube, open at both ends, and containing the liquid, about an axis through the centre and perpendicular to the plane of the Z. As the speed of rotation is gradually increased, the liquid ruptures at the axis of rotation when the tensile stresses set up are no longer able to provide the centripetal force needed to maintain the continuity of the liquid. Experiments of this type show that the tension to cause rupture in water is strongly temperature-dependent, with a maximum tensile strength of about 28 MPa, occurring at 10°C. 

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FLOBERG, L. On the tensile strength of liquids, Trans. Machine Element Division,... 

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