Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Rise of Liquid in a Capillary Tube

Rise of Liquid in a Capillary Tube

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.

Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes

Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes

Hagen-Poiseuille flow describes a viscous fluid's steady, incompressible flow through a cylindrical tube with a constant radius R. This flow profile is often applied to understand fluid transport in narrow channels, such as capillaries. It serves as a foundational example of laminar flow. In this model, cylindrical coordinates (r,θ,z) are used to describe the radial (r), angular (θ), and axial (z) dimensions within the tube. For Hagen-Poiseuille flow, the velocity profile is purely axial,...

Capillarity in Fluid

Capillarity in Fluid

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...

Lymphatic Vessels and Lymph Transport

Lymphatic Vessels and Lymph Transport

Lymphatic vessels, known as lymphatics, are crucial in transporting lymph from peripheral tissues to our venous system. This process begins with lymph entering through tiny capillaries that branch through tissues. These capillaries have unique features such as larger diameters, thinner walls, and a distinctive one-way valve system formed by overlapping endothelial cells.
This one-way system allows fluids, solutes, and even pathogens to enter but prevents their return to the intercellular...

Bernoulli's Principle: Applications

Bernoulli's Principle: Applications

There are many devices and situations in which fluid flows at a constant height and so can be analyzed using Bernoulli's principle. These devices include, but are not limited to, entrainment devices and fluid flow measuring devices.
Entrainment devices use a high fluid speed to create low pressures and, thus, entrain one fluid into another. Some examples of these devices are given below:

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Energies Associated with a Meniscus along a Flat Vertical Wall.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2022

Same author

Meniscus Formation in a Vertical Capillary Tube.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2022

Same author

Liquid Leaks: Dripping Versus Evaporation.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2018

Same author

Drainage from a Fluid-Handling Component Due to Centrifugal Acceleration.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2018

Same author

Drainage from a Fluid-Handling Component with Multiple Orifices due to Inclination or Rotation.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2018

Same author

Comment on "Millimeter-Sized Hole Damming".

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2018

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 20, 2026

Creation of Reversible Cholestatic Rat Model

Creation of Reversible Cholestatic Rat Model

Published on: May 21, 2011

Spontaneous Draining of Liquids from Vertically Oriented Tubes.

¹CPC, Inc. , 1001 Westgate Drive, St. Paul, Minnesota 55114, United States.

Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids

|October 28, 2017

Summary

This study shows that tubes can retain liquid if their opening diameter is small enough, preventing drainage. Critical diameters depend on liquid properties like surface tension and density, with larger openings possible for denser liquids.

More Related Videos

Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy for the Treatment of Anastomotic Leakage after Total Gastrectomy with Esophagojejunostomy

Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy for the Treatment of Anastomotic Leakage after Total Gastrectomy with Esophagojejunostomy

Published on: August 22, 2025

High Speed Droplet-based Delivery System for Passive Pumping in Microfluidic Devices

High Speed Droplet-based Delivery System for Passive Pumping in Microfluidic Devices

Published on: September 2, 2009

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 20, 2026

Creation of Reversible Cholestatic Rat Model

Creation of Reversible Cholestatic Rat Model

Published on: May 21, 2011

Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy for the Treatment of Anastomotic Leakage after Total Gastrectomy with Esophagojejunostomy

Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy for the Treatment of Anastomotic Leakage after Total Gastrectomy with Esophagojejunostomy

Published on: August 22, 2025

High Speed Droplet-based Delivery System for Passive Pumping in Microfluidic Devices

High Speed Droplet-based Delivery System for Passive Pumping in Microfluidic Devices

Published on: September 2, 2009

Area of Science:

Fluid dynamics
Materials science

Background:

Surface tension and atmospheric pressure influence liquid behavior in open containers.
Understanding liquid retention in tubes is crucial for various industrial and scientific applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the critical diameter of open tubes that allows for liquid retention against gravity.
To determine the influence of liquid properties (surface tension, density) on this critical diameter.

Main Methods:

Experiments involving vertically pulling liquid-filled tubes from a reservoir.
Varying the open diameter of the tubes and observing liquid retention or drainage.
Testing with water and a dense, low surface tension perfluoroether oil.

Main Results:

Liquid was retained in tubes with sufficiently small open diameters.
Tubes with larger diameters drained from the bottom up.
Critical diameters ranged from 10-15 mm for water to >5 mm for the perfluoroether oil.

Conclusions:

Liquid retention in open tubes is governed by a combination of material properties and atmospheric pressure, not solely surface tension.
Larger diameter tubes can retain liquids due to these combined factors, contrary to predictions based on surface tension alone.