High School

A 20 cm long capillary tube is dipped in water, and the water rises up to 8 cm. If the entire arrangement is placed in a freely falling elevator, what will be the length of the water column in the capillary tube?

Answer :

Final answer:

The length of the water column in the capillary tube will remain the same, which is 8 cm.

Explanation:

The height to which a liquid will rise in a capillary tube depends on the surface tension of the liquid, the density of the liquid, and the radius of the tube. For water rising in a glass tube, the contact angle between the liquid and the tube is 0°, which means the liquid spreads out completely on the surface of the tube. Using the equation 2T cos 0 h = rpg, where T is the surface tension, h is the height of the liquid, r is the radius of the tube, p is the density of the liquid, and g is the acceleration due to gravity, we can find the height of the water column.

In this case, the capillary tube is dipped in water and the water rises up to 8 cm. If the entire arrangement is put in a freely falling elevator, the length of the water column in the capillary tube will remain the same, which is 8 cm.

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