question_answer

If a capillary tube is put in water in a state of weightlessness how will the rise of water in a capillary tube be different to one observed under normal conditions?

Answer:

                In normal conditions, when the force of surface tension (due to which water rises in capillary) becomes equal to the weight of the water column raised in the tube, water stops rising. In the state of weightlessness, the effective weight of water column raised is zero. Hence water will rise up to the other end of the capillary, however long the capillary is. Water will not overflow, its surface will become flat (its radius of curvature will become infinity).