Seeing all the angles: Scientists measure how water and oils interact with surfaces
Thursday, June 7, 2012 - 08:30
in Earth & Climate
(Phys.org) -- Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory determined the wettabilitythe preference of a rock or other surface to attract or repel waterof different surfaces by experimentally measuring contact angles. Contact angles are observed on the periphery of a drop in contact with the solid surface. Contact angles can be determined for both water droplets on surfaces in the air and for oil droplets in water on the same surfaces. A simple direct relationship was found between contact angles determined for these two different cases.