Q.Derive the formula of excess pressure inside a spherical liquid drop and soap bubble.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Using a virtual work argument, the excess pressure inside a drop is 2T/r; a soap bubble, having two surfaces, has double that: 4T/r.
Consider a spherical liquid drop of radius r, surface tension T, with excess pressure ΔP inside compared to outside. Imagine the radius increases by a small amount dr due to this excess pressure.
Increase in surface area of the drop (one surface, since a drop has only an outer free surface):
dA = 4π(r+dr)^2 - 4πr^2 ≈ 8πr dr (neglecting (dr)^2)
Work done against surface tension in creating this extra area:
dW_surface = T × dA = 8πT r dr
Work done by the excess pressure force in expanding the drop by dr:
dW_pressure = ΔP × (4πr^2) × dr
Equating the two (energy balance):
ΔP × 4πr^2 × dr = T × 8πr dr
ΔP = 2T / r
For a soap bubble, there are TWO free surfaces (an inner surface and an outer surface, since the bubble is a thin film enclosing air), so the increase in total surface area for the same dr is double:
dA = 2 × 8πr dr = 16πr dr
Repeating the same energy balance: …
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