2005 HS Photo Contest Pictures
2005 High School Photo Contest Winners
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Third Place
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Natural Category
Surface tension is responsible for the spherical shape of this suspended water droplet: cohesive forces cause neighboring water molecules to become attracted to each other. On the interior of the droplet, molecules are surrounded by other water molecules. The forces balance, and the mass is in equilibrium. Water molecules at the surface, however, are missing bonds to one side of them (at the air-water interface); thus, the cohesive forces distributed in the other directions become stronger, creating a higher attraction among the molecules at the liquid’s surface – surface tension. Because energy is released when bonds are formed, the configuration with the fewest missing bonds (i.e. the smallest surface area) will have the lowest energy and be the most stable. Thus, the water assumes a spherical shape.
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