Question

A steel blade floats on the surface of pure water. When detergent is added, it sinks, why? What is capillarity?

Answer 1

1. Due to surface tension, a steel blade floats on the surface of clear water.
2. When detergent is added to pure water, the surface tension diminishes, and the steel blade sinks because its weight exceeds the reaction force generated by the detergent solution.
3. As a result, the steel blade sinks in detergent water.

Capillarity: Capillarity refers to the phenomena of a liquid rising or falling inside a capillary tube when it is dipped in the liquid.