In general, liquids have a flat surface, because gravity tends to flatten them out. It is not perfectly flat, and often has waves or ripples if something has disturbed it. Even a perfectly undisturbed liquid is not perfectly flat, since gravity pulls in the direction of the center of the Earth, and there will be some curvature in the surface as a result - but since the center of the Earth is very distant, the curvature is slight. An additional influence on the shape of the surface of a liquid is surface tension. Water, in particular, has an attraction for many substances, and will rise up slightly where it meets the walls of its container.
can be pouredflowstakes the shape of its containerfixed volumescan't be squashedThe properties of a liquid: has a fixed volume, but will assume the shape of the container it fills.density, viscosity, compressibility, thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, boiling point, freezing point, dielectric properties, surface tension, vapour pressure, etc.
Yes it is. Surface tension caused by hydrogen bonding within the water is the reason. Hydrogen bonding is caused by the strong polar nature of the water molecule. It's polarity means the positive end of one molecule is attracted to the negative end of another molecule.
A liquid has a definite volume but an indefinite shape. It takes the shape of its container.
Liquid is one of the principal states of matter. A liquid is a fluid that has the particles loose and can freely form a distinct surface at the boundaries of its bulk material http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid
Yes
That crescent shaped surface is known as the meniscus, and is a response to the shape of the container by the liquid.
That crescent shaped surface is known as the meniscus, and is a response to the shape of the container by the liquid.
the meniscus
Surface Tension
Usually, a liquid does not have a predetermined or definite shape. It will take on the shape of the container it is in or surface it is on.The only extenuating circumstance is during free-fall, or where there is negligible or no gravity - it will be become almost spherical, held together by surface tension.
It really depends what type of liquid you have, and its molecular arrangement. For example, a water particle (H2O) would take the shape of one oxygen and two hydrogen. However, in very vague models, water particles, as well as every other type are represented as circles with arrows signifying their movement patterns. In a liquid the particles are fairly tightly packed and are constantly rolling over the top of each other.
Droplets of water will condense on a surface when the surface drops below the Dew Point temperature at that relative humidity.That is, the vapour condenses into a liquid phase. The droplet shape is caused by surface tension of the liquid.
The word for this is meniscus. It comes from a Greek word meaning "crescent". It takes that shape due to surface tension.
It is due to surface tension. Surface tension is only for liquids. Due to surface tension surface energy is to be minimized only reducing the area. For a given volume sphere has minimum surface area. Hence spherical shape.
Surface tension is in equilibrium. The shape of a sphere has the highest volume to surface area to radius ratio. This shape is the lowest energy level a volume of liquid can have. Deforming it into another shape would involve an increase in surface area and an increase in the average radius.
can be pouredflowstakes the shape of its containerfixed volumescan't be squashedThe properties of a liquid: has a fixed volume, but will assume the shape of the container it fills.density, viscosity, compressibility, thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, boiling point, freezing point, dielectric properties, surface tension, vapour pressure, etc.
The crescent shaped surface of liquid that forms in pipettes and graduated cylinders is known as a meniscus.The term for the shape of a liquid at its surface is known as a meniscus.It is called the meniscus. It is usually concave in all liquids; however, it is convex in mercury.