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Related Concept Videos

Capillarity in Fluid01:19

Capillarity in Fluid

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Capillarity describes the movement of liquid in small spaces without external forces acting on it. The capillarity is driven by surface tension and adhesive interactions between the liquid and surrounding solid surfaces. This effect is often seen in narrow tubes, porous materials, and fine particles.
Surface tension is crucial to capillarity. It results from cohesive forces between liquid molecules at the liquid-air boundary, forming a skin that resists external forces. When the capillary tube...
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Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity02:57

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Surface Tension
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...
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Rise of Liquid in a Capillary Tube01:18

Rise of Liquid in a Capillary Tube

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When very thin cylindrical tubes, called capillaries, are dipped in a liquid, the liquid rises or falls in the tube compared to the surrounding liquid. This phenomenon is called capillary action. Capillary action occurs due to the combination of two opposing forces: the cohesive forces of the liquid, which cause it to stick to itself and form a rounded shape, and the adhesive forces between the liquid and the walls of the container, which cause the liquid to be attracted to the container walls.
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Cell Adhesion Molecules - Types and Functions01:20

Cell Adhesion Molecules - Types and Functions

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Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are pivotal to multicellularity and the coordinated functioning of tissues and organ systems. They enable physical interactions between cells and provide mechanical strength to tissues. They also function as receptors for signal transmission across the plasma membrane. The CAMs are broadly classified into four families - integrins, cadherins, selectins, and immunoglobulin-like CAMs (IgCAMs).
CAM Families
The Integrin family of proteins is primarily  involved...
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Adhesion01:14

Adhesion

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Adhesion occurs when one type of molecule is attracted to a different molecule. Water exhibits adhesive properties in the presence of polar surfaces, such as glass or cellulose in plants. For instance, when water is poured into a glass, the positively charged hydrogen molecules of water are more attracted to the negatively charged oxygen molecules in the silica than to the oxygen in neighboring water molecules.
Capillary action is a result of water’s adhesive tendencies. When a narrow...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators
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Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators

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Elastocapillary interactions on nematic films.

Iris B Liu1, Mohamed A Gharbi1, Victor L Ngo1

  • 1Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|May 6, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Rod-like colloids assemble end-to-end due to capillarity and align with liquid crystal director fields. However, interface curvature can override elasticity, guiding particle movement along gradients.

Keywords:
2D superstructuresanisotropic particlescurvatureinterfacial assemblytopology

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Area of Science:

  • Colloid science
  • Soft matter physics
  • Materials science

Background:

  • Rod-like colloids interact via capillary forces at fluid interfaces.
  • Nematic liquid crystals possess anisotropic elastic properties.
  • Understanding particle behavior at liquid crystal interfaces is crucial for materials design.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interplay between capillary and elastic forces on rod-like colloids at nematic liquid crystal free surfaces.
  • To determine how these forces influence particle assembly and orientation.
  • To explore the role of interface curvature in dictating particle behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental observation of rod-like colloids at the free surface of aligned nematic liquid crystal films.
  • Analysis of particle assembly and orientation in relation to capillary and elastic energies.
  • Investigation of particle behavior on curved fluid interfaces.

Main Results:

  • Capillary forces drive end-to-end particle assembly.
  • Elastic forces from the director field align particles along the easy axis.
  • On curved interfaces, curvature capillary energies can dominate, leading to particle migration along gradients.
  • Distinct domains of capillary-dominant and elasticity-dominant interactions were identified.

Conclusions:

  • Capillary and elastic interactions are complementary in governing colloid behavior at nematic liquid crystal interfaces.
  • Interface curvature is a critical factor that can overcome elastic alignment.
  • The findings provide insights into controlling particle self-assembly in anisotropic fluids.