capillarity

English

Etymology

French capillarité.

Noun

capillarity (countable and uncountable, plural capillarities)

1. The interaction between the surfaces of a solid and liquid in contact that distorts the normal geometry of the liquid surface; especially the rise or fall of a liquid in a fine tube.
   • 1856, William Somerville Orr, Orr's Circle of the Sciences:

     Hence the allowance to be made for diminution of the height of a mercurial column, owing to capillarity, is determined by two considerations — the diameter of the tube and versed sine of the corresponding meniscus.

Synonyms

• capillary action
• wicking

Derived terms

• elastocapillarity
• electrocapillarity
• thermocapillarity

Translations

interaction between the surface of a solid and liquid

• Icelandic: hárpípukraftur m, hárpípuhrif n, hárpípuverkun f, sogpípukraftur m
• Indonesian: kapilaritas (id)
• Italian: capillarità (it) f
• Malay: kapilariti
• Romanian: capilaritate (ro)
• Spanish: capilaridad (es) f
• Tagalog: kalamuymuyan

See also

• meniscus
• surface tension

Anagrams

• piratically