On interfacial tension at a rigid apolar wall-water interface
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026

Microtensiometer for Confocal Microscopy Visualization of Dynamic Interfaces
Published on: September 9, 2022
1Howe Professor Emeritus, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA. esm17@columbia.edu
Abstract:
Evidence is presented that the interfacial tension or excess free energy per unit area of the planar interface between extensive, rigid, apolar walls and modeled water is an arithmetic sum of three independent quantities: the surface tension of water, the contribution of the integrated wall-water dispersion interaction, and the contribution of the net exclusion volume associated with the rigid, noninteracting wall. The fact that the interfacial tension is linearly dependent on the wall-water interaction parameter is the inspiration for two conjectures: the interfacial water structure is independent of ε(SL), and the mean interfacial water density profile is not a measure of the interfacial water structure.
Related Concept Videos
Intermolecular Forces
Intermolecular Forces
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...
Surface Tension
Surface Tension of Fluid
Surface tension varies with...
Intermolecular Forces and Physical Properties
