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Chemistry · Glossary

What is Contact angle, wetting?

Also known as: contact angle · wetting

Definition 17.3 University Chemistry — Year 3 · Chapter 17 — Interfaces, Surfactants and Colloids

The contact angle θ\theta of a drop on a solid is the angle, measured through the liquid, between the solid surface and the liquid surface at the line where solid, liquid and vapour meet. A liquid wets the solid when θ<90∘\theta < 90^\circ, and spreads completely when θ=0\theta = 0.

A sessile drop and the three tensions pulling on its contact line: the balance of their components along the solid gives Young’s equation; here 70, a partially wetting liquid.
A sessile drop and the three tensions pulling on its contact line: the balance of their components along the solid gives Young’s equation; here θ≈70∘\theta \approx 70^\circ, a partially wetting liquid.
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