Interface (matter)

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In the physical sciences, an interface is the boundary between two spatial regions occupied by different matter, or by matter in different physical states. The interface between matter and air, or matter and vacuum, is called a surface, and studied in surface science. In thermal equilibrium, the regions in contact are called phases, and the interface is called a phase boundary. An example for an interface out of equilibrium is the grain boundary in polycrystalline matter.

The importance of the interface depends on the type of system: the bigger the quotient area/volume, the greater the effect the interface will have. Consequently, interfaces are very important in systems with large interface area-to-volume ratios, such as colloids.

Interfaces can be flat or curved. For example, oil droplets in a salad dressing are spherical but the interface between water and air in a glass of water is mostly flat.

Surface tension is the physical property which rules interface processes involving liquids. For a liquid film on flat surfaces, the liquid-vapor interface keeps flat to minimize interfacial area and system free energy. For a liquid film on rough surfaces, the surface tension tends to keep the meniscus flat, while the disjoining pressure makes the film conformal to the substrate. The equilibrium meniscus shape is a result of the competition between the capillary pressure and disjoining pressure. [1]

Interfaces may cause various optical phenomena, such as refraction. Optical lenses serve as an example of a practical application of the interface between glass and air.

One topical interface system is the gas-liquid interface between aerosols and other atmospheric molecules.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capillary action</span> Ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meniscus (liquid)</span> Curve in a liquids surface due to adhesion to the container walls

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jurin's law</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capillary bridges</span> Minimised surface of liquid commecting two wetted objects

A capillary bridge is a minimized surface of liquid or membrane created between two rigid bodies of arbitrary shape. Capillary bridges also may form between two liquids. Plateau defined a sequence of capillary shapes known as (1) nodoid with 'neck', (2) catenoid, (3) unduloid with 'neck', (4) cylinder, (5) unduloid with 'haunch' (6) sphere and (7) nodoid with 'haunch'. The presence of capillary bridge, depending on their shapes, can lead to attraction or repulsion between the solid bodies. The simplest cases of them are the axisymmetric ones. We distinguished three important classes of bridging, depending on connected bodies surface shapes:

In fluid mechanics, the thin-film equation is a partial differential equation that approximately predicts the time evolution of the thickness h of a liquid film that lies on a surface. The equation is derived via lubrication theory which is based on the assumption that the length-scales in the surface directions are significantly larger than in the direction normal to the surface. In the non-dimensional form of the Navier-Stokes equation the requirement is that terms of order ε2 and ε2Re are negligible, where ε ≪ 1 is the aspect ratio and Re is the Reynolds number. This significantly simplifies the governing equations. However, lubrication theory, as the name suggests, is typically derived for flow between two solid surfaces, hence the liquid forms a lubricating layer. The thin-film equation holds when there is a single free surface. With two free surfaces, the flow must be treated as a viscous sheet.

References

  1. Hu, Han; Weinberger, Christopher R.; Sun, Ying (2014-11-17). "Effect of Nanostructures on the Meniscus Shape and Disjoining Pressure of Ultrathin Liquid Film". Nano Letters . American Chemical Society (ACS). 14 (12): 7131–7137. Bibcode:2014NanoL..14.7131H. doi:10.1021/nl5037066. ISSN   1530-6984. PMID   25394305.