Capillarity

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Capillarity \Cap`il*lar"i*ty\, n. [Cf. F. capillarit['e].]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. The quality or condition of being capillary.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Physics) The peculiar action by which the surface of a


        liquid, where it is in contact with a solid (as in a
        capillary tube), is elevated or depressed; capillary
        attraction.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Capillarity depends upon the relative attaction of the
           modecules of the liquid for each other and for those of
           the solid, and is especially observable in capillary
           tubes, where it determines the ascent or descent of the
           liquid above or below the level of the liquid which the
           tube is dipped; -- hence the name.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  capillarity
       n : a phenomenon associated with surface tension and resulting
           in the elevation or depression of liquids in capillaries
           [syn: {capillary action}]