Felületfeszítés

Felületfeszítés is the Hungarian term for surface tension. Surface tension is a property of liquids that arises from the cohesive nature of their molecules. At the surface of a liquid, the molecules are attracted to each other and to the molecules in the bulk of the liquid. However, molecules at the surface do not have molecules above them to attract them in the same way, leading to a net inward force. This inward force causes the surface of the liquid to behave like a stretched elastic membrane, minimizing its surface area.

This phenomenon is responsible for various observable effects, such as the ability of small insects to walk on water, the formation of spherical droplets, and the capillary action observed in narrow tubes. The strength of surface tension depends on the type of liquid and the surrounding medium. For example, water has a relatively high surface tension due to strong hydrogen bonding between its molecules. Surfactants, or surface-active agents, are substances that reduce surface tension by disrupting the cohesive forces between liquid molecules.