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MiS Preprint
93/2004
The contact angle in capillarity
Robert Finn
Abstract
In 1805, Thomas Young gave a reasoning to support the view that the contact angle at a solid/liquid/gas interface is a physical constant depending only on the materials, and in no other way on the particular configuration considered. That conclusion has become one of the underpinnings of both classical and modern capillarity theory. The present paper raises some questions about the reasoning, and offers partial answers.
