Why does mercury form convex meniscus?

Why does mercury form convex meniscus?

A concave meniscus, which is what you normally will see, occurs when the molecules of the liquid are attracted to those of the container. A convex meniscus occurs when the molecules have a stronger attraction to each other than to the container, as with mercury and glass.

Why mercury has its meniscus upward?

Therefore mercury falls down from the sides attach to the wall and a concave or upward meniscus is obtained. Q19) Define capillary action. This phenomenon is called Capillary Action. Capillary action is due to strong adhesive forces of water molecules with the wall of capillary tube.

What is the shape when a mercury is placed in a glass vessel?

2 Answers. Mercury metal forms a convex meniscus in glass vessels.

Why is the meniscus of mercury curved downwards?

When mercury is put in a measuring cylinder, the meniscus curves downwards. This is due to the greater cohesive force within the mercury atoms compared to the adhesive force between the mercury atoms and measuring cylinder.

Why water attains concave meniscus whereas mercury attains convex meniscus give reasons?

In case of water, the adhesive forces in the molecules of glass and water are stronger than the cohesive forces in the water molecules. Therefore, the meniscus of water is concave. However, in mercury, th cohesive force are stronger than the adhesive forces. As a result, its meniscus is convex.

Why are mercury and water droplets almost spherical?

Due to surface tension mercury tries to acquire the minimum surface area which is minimum for sphere. For small drops, gravity effect is small and mercury drops are nearly spherical. As the size of the drop increases, force of gravity on the drop increases which tries to deform the shape.

Why does mercury have high surface tension?

As mercury is a metal, the bonds between the molecules are metal bonds that are much stronger than the hydrogen bonds leading to very high cohesive forces and high surface tension.

Why mercury inside glass tube is convex?

Formation of a Meniscus Mercury does not wet glass – the cohesive forces within the drops are stronger than the adhesive forces between the drops and glass. When liquid mercury is confined in a tube, its surface (meniscus) has a convex shape because the cohesive forces in liquid mercury tend to draw it into a drop.

Which way does a convex meniscus curve?

The meniscus of a liquid is the upward or downward curve seen at the top of a liquid in a container. The nature of curve whether upward (convex) or downward (concave) depends on the surface tension the liquid and its adhesion capacity to the wall of the container.

Why is the meniscus of water curved upwards?

When water is put in a measuring cylinder, the meniscus curves upwards. This is due to the greater adhesive force between the water molecules and the measuring cylinder than the cohesive force within the water molecules.

When put into a test tube water shows a concave meniscus whereas mercury shows a convex meniscus?

Is Mercury convex or congruent in meniscus?

Mercury is more strongly attracted to itself (cohesion) and is convex in meniscus. Why does water in a graduated cylinder form a meniscus?

What are the physical properties of mercury?

Mercury has very small adhesive forces with most container materials, and strong cohesive forces. Little drops of mercury will form into almost spheres when spilled on most surfaces (gravity will bend them out of shape).

Why is the meniscus upside down in Mercury?

When you have mercury liquid in a container, why is the meniscus upside down compared to all other liquids? If the cohesive forces between molecules of a liquid are stronger than the adhesive forces between the molecules of a liquid and those of the container then you will see a “convex meniscus.”

What happens when Mercury is placed in a graduated cylinder?

When mercury is placed in a graduated cylinder, the cohesive forces in the mercury are stronger than the adhesive forces between the mercury and the glass. The strong cohesive forces within the mercury pull it together forming a convex shaped meniscus.