Why measure surface tension?
High surface tension inhibits surface wetting. That is why surfactants are added to a liquid in cases where wettability is important. Surfactants, or “surface active agents” are a class of materials that specifically align themselves at a surface to decrease surface tension. Surfactants are used in a number of industrial applications such as removal of contaminants (cleaning), defoaming, and formulations of inks and other coatings. Since surfactants modify surface tension, measurements are performed to study the effects of surfactant concentration and action. But surfactants are not the only materials that alter surface tension, so measurements are also used to study or monitor the effects of the presence of other materials in liquids, either beneficial additives or contaminants, in general process control and monitoring. Other examples include studies of pharmaceutics absorption rates and of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC), a naturally occurring surfactant that is critical to a
