How is surface tension important in nature?

Answer 1

There are technological examples of the importance of surface tension. The degree to which a liquid wets a surface or forms beads depends in large part on the surface tension. Obviously, one wants one's raincoat to bead water as well as the wax on one's car. But the opposite is true for a lubricant. One wants oil to adhere to a surface of a bearing. Coatings are designed with wettabilty as a primary consideration. Cloth may be treated with materials to prevent wetting, but that is also an example where the surface texture or roughness plays a critical role. Paint is an example of a coating that would be carefully evaluated for wettability depending on the application.

Surface tension of water is obviously a property of the surface and the surface of water is an interface, i.e. the place where water comes in contact with anything else. Surface tension is really a measure of how much energy is require to create a surface of a liquid. (Liquids would rather not have much surface, that is why they form drops - to minimize the surface.)

The surface tension of water is large and that surface tension determines many of the properties of any interface with water and changing the surface tension changes those properties.

A lot of Biology happens at the interface of one compartment of water and another and the entire reason we can even have living cells is a result of the large surface tension that stabilizes a cell membrane.

Finally, all those little bugs which walk around on the top of water would have no where to live without water tension.

Answer 2

Surface tension of water is obviously a property of the surface and the surface of water is an interface, i.e. the place where water comes in contact with anything else. Surface tension is really a measure of how much energy is require to create a surface of a liquid. (Liquids would rather not have much surface, that is why they form drops - to minimize the surface.)

The surface tension of water is large and that surface tension determines many of the properties of any interface with water and changing the surface tension changes those properties.

A lot of biology happens at the interface of one compartment of water and another and the entire reason we can even have living cells is a result of the large surface tension that stabilizes a cell membrane.

There are technological examples of the importance of surface tension. The degree to which a liquid wets a surface or forms beads depends in large part on the surface tension. Obviously, one wants one's raincoat to bead water as well as the wax on one's car. But the opposite is true for a lubricant. One wants oil to adhere to a surface of a bearing. Coatings are designed with wettabilty as a primary consideration. Cloth may be treated with material to prevent wetting, but that is also an example where the surface texture or roughness plays a critical role. Paint is an example of a coating that would be carefully evaluated for wettability depending on the application.

Finally, all those little bugs which walk around on the top of water would have no where to live without water tension.