21 Chemistry -- States of Matter

The meniscus for mercury in a glass tube is concave downward. Explain.

The meniscus for mercury in a glass tube is concave downward. Explain.

Meniscus is a curved surface of a liquid seen in a glass tube (capillary tube), when a glass tube is dipped into a liquid. It is because of the inward pull of surface tension acting on the surface of the liquid.

The meniscus in a mercury formed is concave downward as the cohesive force of mercury is stronger than adhesive force when it is taken in a glass tube. Therefore, mercury has convex meniscus in a glass tube i.e. concave downward.

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