We all know that surface tension affects our daily lives thru everyday applications like the ink you use in a pen, detergents for washing clothes, soap to clean your hands, paint for the house, just to name a few.  But Surface tension is more involved in your life than you may think.
Tap water is usually around 72 to 73 dynes/cm.  This can vary by temperature and other variables but for the sake of this blog post we will assume 73 dynes/cm.  Now this is where it gets interesting.  At 73 dynes/cm water will hydrate you.  Or does it?  You see, It is known that on a cellular level your body has to convert fluids to 45 dynes/cm to allow the water to penetrate the human cells.  Once water penetrates the cells it can hydrate and remove toxins from the cells.   If water cannot effectively penetrate human cells an accumulation can build up and over time cause the cells to die.  Amazingly, I have seen places around the world where people claim to have special water.  They claim their water has a lower surface tension and less colloidal minerals.  You knew this was coming..Yes, these same people have demonstrated good health as they easily live to be 100 years old!  And yes, they attribute this to their water.

Not surprisingly, I see web sites now that sell supplements to lower the surface tension of  water to improve your health.

Fact or Fiction you ask?
I think I am going to order some of these supplements and check it myself with a digital tensiometer!  As they say the proof is in the pudding. Or in this case the surface tension!

Stay tuned.  I will update my findings and how I did.

Thank You,
Gus

Scientificgear co-hosts hospitality suite on Monday, June 15, 2009 for members and attendees.

Providing testing equipment and technical support for common petroleum tests including Total Acid Number (TAN), Total Base Number (TBN), Bromine Number, Mercaptan and H2S as well as moisture measurement using karl fisher titration.

For TAN titration, two calibration steps are recommended.
STEP1: Calibrate pH electrode
STEP2: Factor Calibration

STEP1: With the proper pH buffer solution- run a pH calibration check by pressing key “[Calib.]“(note: for KEM potentiometric titrators).  This electrode calibration must be performed before the measurement. It is possible to do this every day or once in per week.

STEP2: Factor Calibration of the reagent concentration.
To do this the operator must have the standard sample,
For TAN titration the reagent is Base solution.

A general factor titration application note “FactorofsodiumHydroxide.pdf” can be downloaded at: http://www.scientificgear.com/Downloads/Application-Notes?range=11%2C20%2C20

Here is a very simple procedure suggested for TAN calibration/instrument check for all AT-Potentiometric automatic titrators using a pH probe such as C373.

1. Use a 0.1 Normal NaOH (sodium hydroxide) as the titrant in the burette.
2. Pipette exactly 5.0 mL of 0.1 Normal HCl (hydrochloric acid) into a clean beaker and dilute with distilled water.
3. Make sure the instrument is set for Endpoint detect.
4. Press run/start on the instrument to start the titration
5. Record the titrant volume from the printer or screen.

Note: The titrant volume should be very close to 5.0 mL since it should take 5.0 mL of NaOH (base) titrant to Neutralize 5.0 mL of HCl (acid) in the beaker. Acceptable result would be 5.0 mL +/- 0.1 mL.

If the result is not within the tolerance of 5.0 mL +/- 0.1 mL, the probe could need replacing.

The phenomenon called surface tension is the property at the surface of a liquid that causes it to behave like a plastic sheet. When you see an insect walking on the surface of a pool or pond, it is because of the surface tension of the water.

The normal example is the surface tension of water exposed to air. At room temperature the surface tension of water is a force around 70 dynes/ per centimeter. At the freezing point of water the surface tension is close to infinite. At the other end of the spectrum; as the temperature approaches boiling, the surface tension of the water moves toward 0.

To measure surface tension, for example the surface tension of water, a platinum ring (circle connected to a vertical stem) is pulled through the surface of the water. The water adheres to the ring for some distance above the surface. When it breaks away the force is measured and converted to surface tension…

To read the entire article go to the CSC Scientific blog by clicking on the link below.

Surface Tension and Interfacial Tension

Posted using ShareThis

The physical and chemical behavior of liquids cannot be understood without taking surface tension into account. It governs the shape that small masses of liquid can assume and the degree of contact a liquid can make with another substance.

Applying Newtonian physics to the forces that arise due to surface tension accurately predicts many liquid behaviors that are so commonplace that most people take them for granted. Applying thermodynamics to those same forces further predicts other more subtle liquid behaviors.

Surface tension has the dimension of force per unit length, or of energy per unit area. The two are equivalent — but when referring to energy per unit of area people use the term surface energy — which is a more general term in the sense that it applies also to solids and not just liquids.

Scientific Gear to Exhibit at Semicon West 2008

July 10, 2008. San Francisco, CA. Scientific Gear today announced that they will be an exhibitor at Semicon West 2008 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. SEMICON West is North America’s largest event dedicated to the global semiconductor, PV and microelectronics manufacturing supply chains. Returning to the Moscone Center, this year’s event will focus on three main themes—“Semiconductors in Transition,” “The Mobile Electronics Revolution,” and “Integration of Design/Production/Test” with the most comprehensive program to date, bringing together companies from all parts of the industry.

Scientific Gear will grow relationships from last year’s conference and continue to help educate the industry on contact angle technologies. Contact angle instruments allow users in the semiconductor industry to conduct surface analysis on semiconductor wafers and other nano materials in the semiconductor industry.

“We are learning more and more from our customers and return this year with more industry knowledge to provide better solutions. From production-run testing and reporting to quality control oversight, we have found unique needs and have taken steps to meet them. At Semicon West 2008 we are introducing “SurfaceWare,” new computer software that improves production reporting as well as a new digital camera that connects easily via firewire to most PCs.”

Scientific Gear working with Surface Electro Optics (SEO) provides a range of instruments to meet most companies needs.  The unique and simple design incorporates the contact angle instrument with easy-to-use computer software for reporting and analysis.

For more information on Scientific Gear, please visit HYPERLINK “http://www.scientificgear.com” www.scientificgear.com.  Or http://blog.scientificgear.com