as the critical surface tension (?_c) of that surface. This critical surface tension is an important parameter because it is a characteristic of only the solid.

Knowing the critical surface tension of a solid, it is possible to predict the wettability of the surface.The wettability of a surface is determined by the outermost chemical groups of the solid.Differences in wettability between surfaces that are similar in structure are due to differences in the packing of the atoms.