surface tension

sur·face ten·sion

S s

Definitions of surface tension words

noun surface tension the elasticlike force existing in the surface of a body, especially a liquid, tending to minimize the area of the surface, caused by asymmetries in the intermolecular forces between surface molecules. 1
noun surface tension liquid: surface force 1
noun surface tension a property of liquids caused by intermolecular forces near the surface leading to the apparent presence of a surface film and to capillarity, etc 0
noun surface tension a measure of this property expressed as the force acting normal to one side of a line of unit length on the surface: measured in newtons per metre 0
noun surface tension a property of liquids in which the exposed surface tends to contract to the smallest possible area because of unequal molecular cohesive forces near the surface: measured by the force per unit of length 0
noun surface tension Surface tension is the force that makes a surface area tend to become smaller to make its surface energy as low as possible. 0

before 1875

One of the 25% newest English words

First recorded in 1875-80

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adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

This term is known only to a narrow circle of people with rare knowledge. Only 5% of English native speakers know the meaning of this word.

According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.

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