What is the Difference Between Surface Tension and Interfacial Tension?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚Surface tension and interfacial tension are both properties related to the behavior of liquids at interfaces, but they differ in the types of interfaces they describe and the forces involved.
Surface Tension:
- Occurs at the interface between a liquid and a gas, such as air.
- Caused by cohesive forces, which are intermolecular forces that cause a liquid to resist separation.
- Results in a "film" on the liquid surface, making it more difficult to move an object through the surface.
- Measured using units of force per unit length (e.g., millinewton per meter, mN/m).
Interfacial Tension:
- Occurs at the interface between two immiscible liquids or two dissimilar phases.
- Involves both cohesive forces and adhesive forces between the liquid phase of one substance and either a solid, liquid, or gas phase of another substance.
- Measured using units of force per unit length, similar to surface tension.
Both surface and interfacial tension are important in various industrial applications. Surface tension, for example, is crucial in determining critical micelle concentration, while interfacial tension plays a significant role in emulsion stability.
Comparative Table: Surface Tension vs Interfacial Tension
Surface tension and interfacial tension are both phenomena related to the properties of liquids and their interactions with other substances. Here is a table highlighting the differences between the two:
| Property | Surface Tension | Interfacial Tension |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Surface tension is the property of a liquid in contact with a gas phase, such as air. | Interfacial tension is the property between any two substances, including liquid-liquid, liquid-solid, or solid-air interfaces. |
| Occurrence | Occurs at the interface between a liquid and a gas (e.g., air). | Occurs at the interface between two immiscible liquids or other dissimilar phases. |
| Units | Measured in millinewtons per meter (mN/m) or dynes per centimeter (dynes/cm). | Measured in the same units as surface tension, i.e., mN/m or dynes/cm. |
| Origin | Caused by the cohesive forces between like molecules, such as hydrogen bonds in water. | Arises from differences in intermolecular forces at the two liquid surfaces in contact with each other. |
| Applications | Surface tension is important in determining critical micelle concentration and measuring contact angles. | Interfacial tension is crucial for emulsion stability and predicting the behavior of immiscible liquids. |
Both surface and interfacial tension are derived from the same underlying principle, which is the result of unbalanced intermolecular forces between the liquid or solid surfaces. However, they differ in their occurrence and applications.
- Cohesion vs Surface Tension
- Surface Tension vs Surface Energy
- Surface Tension vs Viscosity
- Surface Tension vs Capillary Action
- Intermolecular Forces vs Intra-molecular Forces
- Ionic vs Electrostatic Interactions
- Adhesion vs Cohesion
- Turgor Pressure vs Wall Pressure
- Surface Water vs Ground Water
- Van der Waals vs Hydrophobic Interactions
- Area vs Surface Area
- Ion Dipole vs Dipole Dipole Forces
- Dipole Dipole Interactions vs Hydrogen Bonding
- Force vs Pressure
- Tensile Strength vs Yield Strength
- Electrostatic Force vs Gravitational Force
- Intermolecular vs Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding
- Volume vs Surface Area
- Adhesive vs Cohesive Forces