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Surface tension is the amount of attraction the surface of an object has.
Surface tension is easily demonstrated by observing a pool of water. Put your finger in the water and slowly... i mean "slowly"... pull your finger away and you will see the water is actually attracted to your finger and the water will stay on your finger as you pull your finger off the pool of water. This is because of surface tension.
Viscosity is the resistance of a liquid flow. A high viscosity means the liquid is thicker and does not move as readily. (And technically solids have an infinite viscosity because they do not "flow").
A high viscous liquid would be like syrup.
A low viscous liquid would be like water.
Now... a high viscous liquid (like syrup) has a higher surface tension than a low viscous liquid. Do the "finger" demonstration with syrup. You will notice that syrup (being more viscous) will actually be attracted to your finger more than water is. Once you put your finger in a pool of syrup and bring it out... more syrup will be still on your finger.
If you relate the water and syrup demonstration you will see that a higher viscosity means a greater surface tension and a lower viscosity means a lower surface tension.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoThe same attractive forces that cause surface molecules to be difficult to separate (high surface tension) cause molecules elsewhere in the sample to resist movement relative to each other (high viscosity).
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoSurface tension is the tendency of a liquid to be attracted to itself. The result is that liquids tend to clump into droplets because a sphere/ball is the configuration where all the molecules are closest together. Liquids have varying surface tension, some have a stronger tendency to clump together than others. For example water has more surface tension than ethanol.
Mercury has about five times as much surface tension as water does so it can form droplets that are five times as large. And water is already high ranking as surface tension goes so mercury is definitely the most surface-tensile substance I know about.
In fact you can roll a single droplet of mercury around in your palm. But I advise against this as mercury is extremely toxic. It makes you go bonkers. Forever.
So to answer your question to have high surface tension is for a liquid substance to be strongly attracted to itself.
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Does water have a relatively high or low surface tension?
MERCURY has a higher surface tension than water. This highest surface tension between liquids is 487 mN/m at 15 0C.
What does high surface tension cause water to do?
High surface tension causes water to behave as if its surface had an elastic membrane, which was stretched. Due to water's high surface tension, effects like tears of wine and rain water beading on a leaf or grass happen.
Does the pH of water remain exactly neutral because of the high surface tension of water?
The pH of water is not related to surface tension.
What do cohesion and surface tension have in common with reference to water?
Between water molecules a big cohesion force exist; this is the cause of the high surface tension of water.
What is responsible for high surface tension and high specific heat in water?
elfuichee
Does water have a relatively high or low surface tension?
MERCURY has a higher surface tension than water. This highest surface tension between liquids is 487 mN/m at 15 0C.
What does high surface tension cause water to do?
High surface tension causes water to behave as if its surface had an elastic membrane, which was stretched. Due to water's high surface tension, effects like tears of wine and rain water beading on a leaf or grass happen.
Does the pH of water remain exactly neutral because of the high surface tension of water?
The pH of water is not related to surface tension.
What is the reason the high surface tension of water?
The reason behind the high surface tension of water is hydrogen bonds. This very strong bond enables small insects to walk on the surface of water.
Does water have a low surface tension?
Water has a relatively high surface tension compared to other liquids, due to hydrogen bonding.
What do cohesion and surface tension have in common with reference to water?
Between water molecules a big cohesion force exist; this is the cause of the high surface tension of water.
What do cohesion and surface tension have in common reference to water?
Between water molecules a big cohesion force exist; this is the cause of the high surface tension of water.
What is responsible for high surface tension and high specific heat in water?
elfuichee
What causes the high surface tension and low vapor pressure of water?
Hydrogen bonding causes the inward force that minimizes the surface area of water, and the tendency of water molecules escaping this bond to become vapor is slim and/or slow, thus creating it's low pressure.
Why does oil in a bowl of water get repelled when washing liquid is dropped on it?
The oil is not repelled. It is floating on the surface of the water as a thin film. Water has very high surface tension, but when soap or detergent is added to water that surface tension suddenly drops. The water surface now contracts like a punctured rubber sheet toward the remaining area of high surface tension, dragging the oil film floating on its surface with it.
What special property of liquid is shown when an insect walks on the surface of water?
A high surface tension
Which property of water allows insects to walk on water?
Certain insects (ones with a very light weight) are able to walk on water as their weight does not break the surface tension of the water. Water has a very high surface tension, therefore easily breaking and not supporting weight above a certain limit.
