Surface tension effects of surface tension can be seen with ordinary water: Surface tension is visible in other common phenomena, especially when surfactants are used to decrease it: Surface tension, represented by the symbol "γ" (alternatively "σ" or "T"), is measured in force per unit length. Its SI unit is newton per meter but the cgs unit of dyne per centimeter is also used. For example, Surface tension can be defined in terms of force or energy. In terms of force: surface tension of a liquid is the force per unit length. In the illustration on the right, the rectangular frame, composed
Surface tension wire and dipping it in soap-solution, a locally minimal surface will appear in the resulting soap-film within seconds. The reason for this is that the pressure difference across a fluid interface is proportional to the mean curvature, as seen in the Young–Laplace equation. For an open soap film, the pressure difference is zero, hence the mean curvature is zero, and minimal surfaces have the property of zero mean curvature. The surface of any liquid is an interface between that liquid and some other medium. The top surface of a pond, for example, is an interface between the pond water and