Tendency of materials to decrease the surface area
The property of surface tension may also be described on terms of the tendency of the liquid to decrease its surface area. Because of the forces acting on any line on the surface , the surface tends to shrink whenever it gets a chance to do so.
Here is an observation you may have observed before:
When a brush is inside a liquid , the bristles of the brush move freely. When it is taken out of the liquid, surfaces are formed between the bristles. To minimze their area,they stick together
Here is another :
Take a dropper and carefully press the bulb of the dropper so that exactly one drop of liquid falls down. Observe the drop as it falls down . Do this several times to convince yourself that the drop is nearly spherical in shape
However , clearly the drops of water on the ground / table do not look spherical. You may think that I have told you lies, but there is a specific reason for this : gravity.
When the size of the drop becomes large enough , eventually the force of gravity dominates and the drop 'collapses'.
Now in a zero gravity environment , the drop will remain a sphere. Fans of the comic 'adventures of Tintin' may remember that in explorers to the moon , it is precisely what happens to captain Haddock's whisky!!!!
Hope this was helpful /interesting/relevant
Send me a list of typos and mistakes in my claims if you find them . I hope that there are not many mistakes or typos
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