Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Surface Tension of Fluid01:22

Surface Tension of Fluid

484
Surface tension is a fundamental property of fluids, occurring at the boundary between a liquid and a gas or between two immiscible liquids. This phenomenon arises from the cohesive forces between molecules at the fluid's surface, creating an effect similar to a stretched elastic membrane. Inside each fluid, molecules are equally attracted in all directions by neighboring molecules, but surface molecules experience a net inward force, resulting in surface tension.
Surface tension varies...
484
Cohesion01:07

Cohesion

55.8K
Cohesion is the attraction between molecules of the same type, such as water molecules. Water molecules have an overall neutral charge but are polar molecule. An oxygen atom in one water molecule has a partial negative charge that can bind to a hydrogen atom with a partial positive charge in a second water molecule, forming a hydrogen bond. Each water molecule can form up to four hydrogen bonds with other water molecules. Hydrogen bonds are responsible for water's cohesive nature.
On a...
55.8K
Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity02:57

Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity

29.2K
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...
29.2K
Adhesion01:14

Adhesion

41.5K
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...
41.5K
Capillarity in Fluid01:19

Capillarity in Fluid

386
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...
386
Rise of Liquid in a Capillary Tube01:18

Rise of Liquid in a Capillary Tube

2.3K
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.
2.3K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Optimizing oil-water separation using fractal surfaces.

The Journal of chemical physics·2025
Same author

Chemical physics of controlled wettability and super surfaces.

The Journal of chemical physics·2023
Same author

Comparing individual-based models of collective cell motion in a benchmark flow geometry.

Soft matter·2023
Same author

Hierarchical structured surfaces enhance the contact angle of the hydrophobic (meta-stable) state.

The Journal of chemical physics·2023
Same author

Transport threshold in a quantum model for the KscA ion channel.

Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal·2021
Same author

A single active ring model with velocity self-alignment.

Soft matter·2021
Same journal

Rheology of <i>Escherichia coli</i> suspensions with various bacterial morphologies and motion characteristics.

Soft matter·2026
Same journal

Stress-boundary-memory feedback drives vortical-polar transitions in softly confined active matter.

Soft matter·2026
Same journal

CAGE ionic liquids meet biomembranes: unraveling molecular mechanisms and partitioning kinetics.

Soft matter·2026
Same journal

Steady and oscillatory propulsion in reactive swimming droplets.

Soft matter·2026
Same journal

Axial forces in capillary liquid bridges of polymer solutions.

Soft matter·2026
Same journal

Dual-mode pH-programmable enzymatic hydrogel system for on-demand glucose generation.

Soft matter·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 10, 2025

Aqueous Droplets Used as Enzymatic Microreactors and Their Electromagnetic Actuation
08:27

Aqueous Droplets Used as Enzymatic Microreactors and Their Electromagnetic Actuation

Published on: August 28, 2017

5.5K

Probing wetting properties with self-propelled droplets.

Bernardo Boatini1, Cristina Gavazzoni1, Leonardo Gregory Brunnet1

  • 1Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Caixa Postal 15051, CEP 91501-970, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. b.boattini@gmail.com.

Soft Matter
|August 26, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Active matter physics offers a novel method to study droplet metastability on surfaces. Increasing droplet activity helps overcome energy barriers, enabling exploration and suppression of metastable wetting states.

More Related Videos

Fabricating High-viscosity Droplets using Microfluidic Capillary Device with Phase-inversion Co-flow Structure
08:02

Fabricating High-viscosity Droplets using Microfluidic Capillary Device with Phase-inversion Co-flow Structure

Published on: April 17, 2018

10.6K
Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method
07:18

Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method

Published on: June 14, 2019

6.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 10, 2025

Aqueous Droplets Used as Enzymatic Microreactors and Their Electromagnetic Actuation
08:27

Aqueous Droplets Used as Enzymatic Microreactors and Their Electromagnetic Actuation

Published on: August 28, 2017

5.5K
Fabricating High-viscosity Droplets using Microfluidic Capillary Device with Phase-inversion Co-flow Structure
08:02

Fabricating High-viscosity Droplets using Microfluidic Capillary Device with Phase-inversion Co-flow Structure

Published on: April 17, 2018

10.6K
Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method
07:18

Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method

Published on: June 14, 2019

6.8K

Area of Science:

  • Physics
  • Materials Science
  • Surface Science

Background:

  • Wetting phenomena are critical for technologies utilizing hydrophobic or hydrophilic surfaces.
  • Substrates can exhibit multiple wetting states (metastability) due to surface conditions or droplet history.
  • Controlling metastable states is vital for applications, yet current study methods are complex or costly.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce an alternative approach for studying droplet metastability using active matter physics concepts.
  • To investigate droplet wetting behavior on a pillared surface with a novel computational model.
  • To demonstrate how droplet activity influences the exploration and suppression of metastable wetting states.

Main Methods:

  • A 3-state cellular Potts model was employed, incorporating a polarity term to simulate a self-propelled droplet.
  • The model was applied to a pillared substrate known to exhibit metastable wetting states.
  • Contact angle measurements were used to quantify metastability.

Main Results:

  • Increasing droplet activity allowed it to overcome free energy barriers between metastable states.
  • Activity facilitated the exploration of consecutive metastable wetting states.
  • Metastability was eventually suppressed entirely with sufficient activity.
  • Activity reduced the difference between dry and wet states.

Conclusions:

  • Active matter physics provides a new, computationally efficient framework for studying droplet metastability.
  • Droplet activity is a key factor in controlling wetting behaviors on complex surfaces.
  • This approach offers a reliable method for identifying and quantifying metastability via contact angle measurements.