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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.

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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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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Procedure for the Transfer of Polymer Films Onto Porous Substrates with Minimized Defects

Procedure for the Transfer of Polymer Films Onto Porous Substrates with Minimized Defects

Published on: June 22, 2019

Capillary transfer of soft films.

Yue Zhang¹, Mengtian Yin¹, Yongmin Baek²

¹Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|February 26, 2020

Summary

A novel capillary transfer method enables defect-free, high-speed transfer of soft films from liquids onto solid substrates. This robust technique expands possibilities for advanced film-based electronics and devices.

Keywords:

capillary transfer flexible structures liquid substrate soft films

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Surface Science
Mechanical Engineering

Background:

Current film transfer methods for electronics rely on solid substrates, limiting flexibility.
Developing new techniques for transferring soft films is crucial for advanced device fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce a new capillary-driven transfer method for soft films.
To demonstrate its speed, robustness, and defect-free capabilities.
To explore its versatility across diverse materials and patterns.

Main Methods:

Utilizing a capillary transfer approach driven by dynamic contact at the liquid-film-substrate interface.
Controlling transfer speed and direction via receiver substrate motion.
Validating with extensive experiments, theoretical modeling, and computational analysis.

Main Results:

Achieved fast, robust, and defect-free transfer of various soft films.
Demonstrated control over complex geometric patterns.
Showcased compatibility with diverse film and liquid materials and wetting properties.

Conclusions:

The capillary transfer method offers a reliable and versatile solution for fabricating film-based electronics.
This technique overcomes limitations of traditional solid-substrate transfer methods.
It enables deterministic patterning of soft films onto various substrates.