Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Atomic Force Microscopy Cantilever-Based Nanoindentation: Mechanical Property Measurements at the Nanoscale in Air and Fluid
Published on: December 2, 2022
Statistical mechanics of fluids adsorbed in planar wedges: finite contact angle
1School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
I consider the statistical mechanics of inhomogeneous fluids applied to fluids adsorbed in planar wedges. Exact results are described that belong to an infinite subset of models defined as the intersection of any two identical semi-infinite planar wall-fluid potentials. This geometry is interesting as a generic example of adsorption onto structured interfaces and of interfacial phase transitions controlled by the substrate geometry. Previously described virial theorems are extended to the case of a general wall-fluid model. This enables the consideration of wedge filling when Young's contact angle far from the wedge apex is finite. The virial theorems generate two important relations: the wedge sum rules. The first sum rule links the interfacial free energy far from the wedge apex to the structure induced at the apex. The second sum rule links the free energy of the apex region to the structure induced by the apex. When Young's contact angle at the wedge walls is finite these relations further yield an exact result for the macroscopic contact angle in terms of the nanoscopic structure at the three-phase contact line (the intersection of the liquid-vapor surface with a wedge wall): the contact angle sum rule. These exact results are of direct relevance to computer simulation studies of adsorbed films. In addition, they take on special significance in the vicinity of continuous interfacial phase transitions: an approach to complete filling and the filling transition at bulk liquid-vapor coexistence.
Related Concept Videos
Contact Angle
The adhesive force is the molecular force between molecules of different materials, that is, between the molecules of the solid and the liquid. The cohesive force...
Concept of Pressure at a Point
In a fluid at rest, pressure acts equally in...
Surface Tension of Fluid
Surface tension varies with...
Fluid Pressure over Curved Plate of Constant Width
Fluid Pressure over Flat Plate of Variable Width
The pressure distribution on the plate can be calculated by determining the force that acts on a differential area strip of the plate. Thus, the magnitude of the force is equal to the...
Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
