capillarity

Fluid defies gravity

Capillarity is the tendency of liquids to rise or fall in narrow tubes or porous materials, defying gravity through surface tension.

Water climbs up a paper towel or moves through plant stems by capillary action.

The narrower the tube, the higher the liquid rises: Capillarity draws ink through a fountain pen's feed.

physics

meniscus

Curved liquid surface

wettingAdding moisture to
adhesionState of clinging fast
cohesionTendency to bind together

viscosity · porosity · permeability · hydrophilic · hydrophobic · concave · convex

wicking

absorption

Process of taking in

porousAllowing passage of fluids
fabricWoven or knit material
paperPressed pulp for writing

wick · textile · moisture · cotton · sponge · towel · absorbent · filtration · chromatography · saturation

nature

groundwater

Water in underground rock

transpirationBotanical water vapor release
aquiferGroundwater-bearing geological formation
clayMoldable earth for ceramics

sand · sediment · evaporation · irrigation · stomata

applications

inkjet

Spray-based printing method

solderingLow-temp metal fusion
candleWax stick with wick

Categories

Water Propertiessalinity, temperature, density, viscosity, pH
geotechnicssoil, soil type, soil classification, soil structure, subsurface
moisturemoisture, humidity, dampness, wetness, wet
porous thingsporous, permeable, sponge, mesh, sieve
surfacessurface, sphere, cone, torus, plane
absorptionabsorb, absorption, sorption, uptake, adsorption

Opposites

fluid movement mechanism

capillarityconvection

Heat transfer via motion

drainage · gravity · free fall · siphoning · percolation

scale of fluid dynamics

capillarityturbulent flow

Irregular, swirling fluid dynamics

river flow · oceanic currents

Phrases

broken capillariesDamaged tiny blood vessels

Family

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