Name: why water drops and needles float
Uploaded: 2025-02-13T15:43:08.000Z
Duration: 1 min 22 s
Channel: JoVE

Una aguja de acero o una hoja de afeitar pueden flotar en el agua si se colocan suavemente debido a la tensión superficial, que surge en la interfaz entre un líquido y un gas o dos líquidos que no se mezclan.
La tensión superficial hace que la superficie del líquido se comporte como una membrana elástica estirada, soportando así el objeto.
La tensión superficial es el resultado de las fuerzas cohesivas que actúan entre las moléculas líquidas. Las moléculas dentro del líquido están rodeadas uniformemente por otras moléculas, lo que resulta en fuerzas equilibradas en todas las direcciones.
Por otro lado, las moléculas en la superficie experimentan una fuerza desequilibrada hacia el interior del líquido, creando un efecto de piel en la superficie.
La intensidad de estas fuerzas cohesivas por unidad de longitud se denomina tensión superficial. La tensión superficial varía con la temperatura y el tipo de fluido, disminuyendo a medida que aumenta la temperatura.
La tensión superficial es crucial en procesos como la formación de gotas. En los sistemas de riego, el agua forma gotas que pueden distribuirse uniformemente sobre las plantas.
Las fuerzas cohesivas dentro del agua ayudan a mantener la forma de la gota hasta que entra en contacto con una superficie, lo que garantiza un uso y distribución eficientes del agua.

tensión superficial de un fluido

La tensión superficial es una propiedad fundamental de los fluidos, que se produce en el límite entre un líquido y un gas o entre dos líquidos inmiscibles. Este fenómeno surge de las fuerzas de cohesión entre las moléculas en la superficie del fluido, creando un efecto similar al de una membrana elástica estirada. Dentro de cada fluido, las moléculas vecinas atraen por igual a las moléculas en todas las direcciones, pero las moléculas de la superficie experimentan una fuerza neta hacia adentro, lo que da como resultado la tensión superficial. La tensión superficial varía con el tipo de fluido y su temperatura, y normalmente disminuye a medida que aumenta la temperatura. Las temperaturas más altas reducen la cohesión molecular, lo que reduce la tensión superficial. Esta propiedad es crucial para explicar la formación de gotitas, burbujas y el comportamiento de los chorros de líquido. Por ejemplo, las gotitas de agua forman formas esféricas para minimizar el área de superficie, lo que ilustra el papel de la tensión superficial en la reducción de la energía. La acción capilar, otro efecto de la tensión superficial, se observa cuando un líquido se mueve hacia arriba o hacia abajo en un tubo delgado en comparación con el nivel del líquido circundante. El diámetro del tubo influye en la altura que alcanza el líquido en el tubo; Los tubos más estrechos dan lugar a elevaciones mayores. La tensión superficial también permite que los objetos ligeros floten sobre la superficie de un líquido. Por ejemplo, una aguja de acero puede flotar en el agua si se coloca con cuidado, ya que la tensión superficial la sostiene. De manera similar, los insectos como los zapateros aprovechan la tensión superficial para caminar sobre el agua sin hundirse.

Tensión superficial de un fluido

Una aguja de acero o una hoja de afeitar pueden flotar en el agua si se colocan suavemente debido a la tensión superficial, que surge en la interfaz entre un líquido y un gas o ...

Education

Educación

JoVE Core

Civil Engineering

Ingeniería Civil

Unit 1

Unidad 1

Fluid Properties

Propiedades de los fluidos

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

TÉRMINOS Y CONCEPTOS CLAVE

Surface Tension of Fluid

why water drops and needles float

Surface tension helps explain why water forms drops, supports small objects, and moves in thin tubes. It is a property of fluids at the boundary between a liquid and a gas, or between two immiscible liquids. At the surface, molecules are pulled inward by neighboring molecules. That inward pull makes the surface act a little like a stretched elastic membrane.

Inside a fluid, molecules are attracted in all directions. Surface molecules do not have the same balance of forces. They feel a net inward force, and that is what creates surface tension. The strength of this effect depends on the fluid, and it usually gets lower as temperature increases.

Higher temperature reduces molecular cohesion, which means the molecules hold together less strongly. Lower cohesion leads to lower surface tension. This change helps explain the behavior of droplets, bubbles, and liquid jets. Water droplets often become spherical because that shape minimizes surface area and lowers energy.

Surface tension also shows up in capillary action. In a thin tube, a liquid can rise above or fall below the level of the surrounding liquid. The tube diameter matters. Narrower tubes produce a higher rise in the liquid.

This same property can support light objects on water. A steel needle can float if it is placed gently on the surface. In the same way, water striders use surface tension to walk on water without sinking.

Why Water Drops and Needles Float

characteristics of fluids

Fluid Behavior in Liquids and Gases

Fluids include liquids and gases, and they behave differently from solids because of how their molecules are arranged. In solids, molecules are tightly packed and held by strong intermolecular forces. That structure helps solids keep their shape and resist deformation. Fluids have molecules that are farther apart and held by weaker forces. Because of this, they can flow and change shape easily. A fluid is any substance that deforms continuously when shearing stress is applied. Shearing stress...

density, specific weight, specific gravity and compressibility of fluid

density-specific-weight-specific-gravity-and-compressibility-of-fluid

Fluid Properties: Density, Weight and Compression

Density, specific weight, specific gravity, and compressibility are key fluid properties. Density is the mass per unit volume of a fluid. It helps describe how much mass a fluid system contains and affects buoyancy, pressure, flow behavior, viscosity, thermal conductivity, and sound propagation. In pipeline design, knowing density helps engineers make sure the pipe can support the fluid’s mass. Specific weight is the weight per unit volume. It is found by multiplying density by gravitational...

viscosity of fluid

How Temperature Changes Fluid Viscosity

Viscosity describes how much a fluid resists flow and deformation. It comes from internal friction between fluid layers that move past each other. Dynamic viscosity, shown by the Greek letter mu (μ), measures the force needed to move one layer over another. Newtonian fluids, such as water and air, have a linear relationship between shearing stress and the rate of shearing strain. Their viscosity stays constant, even when the applied stress changes. Non-Newtonian fluids, like ketchup,...

types of fluids

Newtonian vs Non-Newtonian Fluid Behavior

Fluids can be grouped by how they respond to shear stress. Shear stress is a force that acts across a material, and shear strain rate describes how quickly it changes shape or flows. In this lesson, fluids are divided into Newtonian and non-Newtonian types. Newtonian fluids follow Newton’s law of viscosity. Their shear stress changes in a linear way as the shear rate changes. That means their viscosity stays constant, so their flow is predictable and easier to analyze. Water, air, oil, and...

newtonian fluid: problem solving

Newtonian Fluid Viscosity and Shear Stress

Newtonian fluids have a constant viscosity, so their shear stress and shear strain rate stay directly proportional. This creates a linear, predictable link between force and flow. Water, air, and light oils are common examples of Newtonian fluids. A simple way to study this behavior is to place the fluid between two parallel plates. One plate stays still, and the other moves at a constant velocity. The fluid forms a velocity gradient, which is the change in speed across the distance between...

vapor pressure of fluid

Vapor Pressure and Boiling Behavior

Vapor pressure and boiling behavior are closely linked in fluids. Vapor pressure is the pressure a vapor exerts when it is in thermodynamic equilibrium with its liquid at a given temperature. It shows how strongly molecules tend to leave the liquid surface and move into the vapor phase. A closed container helps show how vapor pressure forms. If a liquid sits in a sealed space with a small air gap, and that space is evacuated, vapor molecules escape from the liquid into the empty space. The...

surface tension of fluid

Surface tension helps explain why water forms drops, supports small objects, and moves in thin tubes. It is a property of fluids at the boundary between a liquid and a gas, or between two immiscible liquids. At the surface, molecules are pulled inward by neighboring molecules. That inward pull makes the surface act a little like a stretched elastic membrane. Inside a fluid, molecules are attracted in all directions. Surface molecules do not have the same balance of forces. They feel a net...

capillarity in fluid

Capillary Action in Narrow Spaces

Capillary action is the movement of liquid through narrow spaces without any outside force. It depends on surface tension and adhesion between the liquid and nearby solid surfaces. This effect is common in narrow tubes, porous materials, and fine particles. Surface tension comes from cohesive forces between liquid molecules at the liquid-air boundary. These forces create a thin skin that resists outside pressure. When a capillary tube is placed in a liquid, the liquid level changes because of...

design example: deciding thickness of lubricating fluid in a shaft

design-example-deciding-thickness-of-lubricating-fluid-in-a-shaft

Lubricant Film Thickness for Shaft Bearings

Lubricant film thickness for shaft bearings is calculated to keep a rotating shaft from touching its bearing housing. A controlled layer of lubricant reduces friction, wear, and energy loss. It also helps the machine run smoothly by preventing metal-to-metal contact. The calculation starts with the shaft’s tangential velocity. First, the rotational speed is converted to angular velocity. Then that value is multiplied by the shaft radius. The result is the shaft’s linear speed at its surface...

key terms and concepts

Explore how surface tension shapes droplets, bubbles, capillary action, and floating needles. Learn why temperature and tube size change fluid behavior.

Why Water Drops and Needles Float | JoVE K12

JoVE Core Civil Engineering provides a foundational exploration of essential construction materials in civil engineering, focusing on bricks, stones, steel, wood, and concrete through easy-to-understand animated videos. This collection covers the properties, manufacturing processes, and practical applications of these materials. Additionally, the accompanied science-in-action videos demonstrate the research experiments performed in laboratories.

civil engineering

Why Water Drops and Needles Float

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