Capillarity
Category : JEE Main & Advanced
If a tube of very narrow bore (called capillary) is dipped in a liquid, it is found that the liquid in the capillary either ascends or descends relative to the surrounding liquid. This phenomenon is called capillarity.
The root cause of capillarity is the difference in pressures on two sides of (concave and convex) curved surface of liquid.
Examples of capillarity :
(i) Ink rises in the fine pores of blotting paper leaving the paper dry.
(ii) A towel soaks water.
(iii) Oil rises in the long narrow spaces between the threads of a wick.
(iv) Wood swells in rainy season due to rise of moisture from air in the pores.
(v) Ploughing of fields is essential for preserving moisture in the soil.
(vi) Sand is drier soil than clay. This is because holes between the sand particles are not so fine as compared to that of clay, to draw up water by capillary action.
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