Open AccessThe tension of composite fluid surfaces and the mechanical stability of films of fluid
Publication year - 1912
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series a, containing papers of a mathematical and physical character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9150
pISSN - 0950-1207
DOI - 10.1098/rspa.1912.0053
Subject(s) - surface tension , molecule , constant (computer programming) , layer (electronics) , composite number , range (aeronautics) , action (physics) , thermodynamics , chemistry , materials science , physics , composite material , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , computer science , programming language
The tension of a composite surface composed of a fully separated layer of one fluid (say oil) spread over a mass of another fluid (say water) is given by the equation T = TA +TAB , where A and B denote respectively the oil layer (exterior layer) and the water (interior mass). Ifz be the depth of the exterior layer, then, for a given temperatureθ , the quantity TA will reach a constant value whenz is either > twice the range of action of the oil molecules on each other, or > the sum of two values, namely, the range of action of oil molecules on each other, and of the oil molecules on the water molecules. Let Z be the lowest value of Z for which Tθ is constant: ½Z is equal to the greater of two quantities, the range of action of the molecules of oil, or the mean of this value plus the range of action of these molecules upon the molecules of water.