Skip to content
Question of 53

Q.Define surface tension of a liquid. Find an expression for the excess pressure inside a soap bubble. OR Explain the meaning of the coefficient of linear expansion (α), coefficient of superficial expansion (β) and coefficient of volume expansion (γ) of a solid material. Establish relation among α and γ.

Haryana BsehBoard of School Education Haryana (Senior Secondary Part-I / Class 11) 2018Subjective· 5mImportance★★★★★
0% · 0/53 Questions
🔒 Locked · start free trial →

You're viewing a preview — the full solution, concept, methods & PYQ mapping are locked.

Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →

Surface tension T is the tangential contractile force per unit length on a liquid surface. A soap bubble has two surfaces, so equating the work done by excess pressure to the increase in surface energy gives ΔP = 4T/r.

Definition of surface tension: Surface tension of a liquid is the property due to which the free surface of a liquid at rest behaves like a stretched elastic membrane, tending to contract so as to occupy the minimum possible surface area. Quantitatively, it is defined as the tangential force acting per unit length on either side of an imaginary line drawn on the liquid surface:

T=FlT = \frac{F}{l}

with SI unit N/m (equivalently, energy per unit area, J/m²).

Excess pressure inside a soap bubble — derivation:

A soap bubble is a thin spherical film of liquid with two free surfaces exposed to air — an inner surface and an outer surface (unlike a simple liquid drop, which has only one surface). Because of surface tension, the pressure inside the bubble (PiP_i) is greater than the pressure outside (PoP_o); let this excess pressure be ΔP=Pi−Po\Delta P = P_i - P_o.

Consider the bubble of radius r. Imagine its radius increases by a small amount dr due to this excess pressure.

Work done by the excess pressure in this small expansion:

dW=ΔP×(surface area)×dr=ΔP×4πr2×drdW = \Delta P \times (\text{surface area}) \times dr = \Delta P \times 4\pi r^2 \times dr

Increase in surface energy: Since the bubble has 2 surfaces, the total surface area is 2×4πr2=8πr22\times 4\pi r^2 = 8\pi r^2. When the radius increases by dr, the increase in total surface area is:

dA=2×8πr dr=16πr drdA = 2\times 8\pi r\, dr = 16\pi r\, dr …

Unlock everything free for 14 days

  • Full step-by-step solutions
  • Concept-first explanations
  • Methods, shortcuts & mistakes
  • PYQ mapping + timed mock tests

Full access for 14 days. No credit card required.