The contact angle in capillarity

Robert Finn

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Submission date: 15. Dec. 2004
published as: Erratum: 'The contact angle in capillarity' [Phys. Fluids 18, 047102 (2006)].
In: Physics of fluids, 20 (2008) 10, art-no. 109901 
DOI number (of the published article): 10.1063/1.2981835
published as: The contact angle in capillarity.
In: Physics of fluids, 18 (2006) 4, art-no. 047102 
DOI number (of the published article): 10.1063/1.2185655
Bibtex
MSC-Numbers: 76B45, 53A10, 49Q10

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.