Careful observations with special precautions to ensure the cleanliness of the water have shown that over a considerable range, the departure from Tate’s law is not great. The results give material for the determination of the function F in (1).
| T/(9σa²) | gM/Ta |
| 2.58 | 4.13 |
| 1.16 | 3.97 |
| 0.708 | 3.80 |
| 0.441 | 3.73 |
| 0.277 | 3.78 |
| 0.220 | 3.90 |
| 0.169 | 4.06 |
In the preceding table, applicable to thin-walled tubes, the first column gives the values of T/gσa², and the second column those of gM/Ta, all the quantities concerned being in C.G.S. measure, or other consistent system. From this the weight of a drop of any liquid of which the density and surface tension are known, can be calculated. For many purposes it may suffice to treat F as a constant, say 3.8. The formula for the weight of a drop is then simply
Mg = 3.8Ta, (2)
in which 3.8 replaces the 2π of the faulty theory alluded to earlier (see Rayleigh, Phil. Mag., Oct. 1899).]
Phenomena arising from the Variation of the Surface-tension.—Pure water has a higher surface-tension than that of any other substance liquid at ordinary temperatures except mercury. Hence any other liquid if mixed with water diminishes its surface-tension. For example, if a drop of alcohol be placed on the surface of water, the surface-tension will be diminished from 80, the value for pure water, to 25, the value for pure alcohol. The surface of the liquid will therefore no longer be in equilibrium, and a current will be formed at and near the surface from the alcohol to the surrounding water, and this current will go on as long as there is more alcohol at one part of the surface than at another. If the vessel is deep, these currents will be balanced by counter currents below them, but if the depth of the water is only two or three millimetres, the surface-current will sweep away the whole of the water, leaving a dry spot where the alcohol was dropped in. This phenomenon was first described and explained by James Thomson, who also explained a phenomenon, the converse of this, called the “tears of strong wine.”
If a wine-glass be half-filled with port wine the liquid rises a little up the side of the glass as other liquids do. The wine, however, contains alcohol and water, both of which evaporate, but the alcohol faster than the water, so that the superficial layer becomes more watery. In the middle of the vessel the superficial layer recovers its strength by diffusion from below, but the film adhering to the side of the glass becomes more watery, and therefore has a higher surface-tension than the surface of the stronger wine. It therefore creeps up the side of the glass dragging the strong wine after it, and this goes on till the quantity of fluid dragged up collects into a drop and runs down the side of the glass.
The motion of small pieces of camphor floating on water arises from the gradual solution of the camphor. If this takes place more rapidly on one side of the piece of camphor than on the other side, the surface-tension becomes weaker where there is most camphor in solution, and the lump, being pulled unequally by the surface-tensions, moves off in the direction of the strongest tension, namely, towards the side on which least camphor is dissolved.
If a drop of ether is held near the surface of water the vapour of ether condenses on the surface of the water, and surface-currents are formed flowing in every direction away from under the drop of ether.
If we place a small floating body in a shallow vessel of water and wet one side of it with alcohol or ether, it will move off with great velocity and skim about on the surface of the water, the part wet with alcohol being always the stern.