to be the same for all shapes. We therefore define the surface tension asThe reason for the is that the film has two sides (two surfaces), each of which contributes equally to the force; so the force contributed by a single side is .

In terms of energy

Surface tension of a liquid is the ratio of the change in the energy of the liquid to the change in the surface area of the liquid (that led to the change in energy). This can be easily related to the previous definition in terms of force: if is the force required to stop

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