The weather was cool today (55°F / 13°C), with a light rain— just enough to form pearly droplets on plants with large, waxy leaves.
It made me look up the surface tension* of water again (see table below). Water has the highest surface tension of almost all common liquids.
There is mercury of course, that blows all the competition away.
On the low end, liquid helium stands alone with virtually no surface tension, and in a state of superfluidity it flows without friction or viscosity.
*Surface tension is the tendency of liquid surfaces at rest to shrink into the minimum surface area possible. Surface tension is what allows objects with a higher density than water such as razor blades and insects to float on a water surface without becoming even partly submerged.
[Wikipedia]
| Liquid | Temperature (°C) | Surface Tension (mN/m) |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 25 | 72 |
| Sea Water | 20 | 74 |
| Olive Oil | 20 | 33 |
| Whole Milk | 20 | 45 |
| Liquid Dish Soap | 20 | 22 |
| Mercury | 15 | 487 |
| Liquid Helium II | -273 | 0.37 |