[Physics] Finding surface tension of water at certain temperature and pressure

fluid dynamicshomework-and-exercisessurface-tensionwater

The question is:

Using the Young-Laplace Equation (if applicable), find the surface tension (dynes/cm) for water at 20
degrees Celsius with 2.5 psi. Round to the nearest tenth.

Well, I didn't use the Young-Laplace equation, not sure if needed though. What I did was use the Eötvös rule and its special case for water to solve the question. The equation is:

$$\gamma = 0.07275\;\frac{N}{m}\;\times\;(1-0.002\times(T-291K))$$

What I did was convert 20 Celsius to Kelvin (293K) and then put it in the equation to get:

$$\gamma = 0.07275\;\frac{N}{m}\;\times\;(1-0.002\times(293K-291K))= 0.072459\frac{N}{m}$$

However, I think I may be wrong as this does not account for pressure at all. Which ends up becoming about $72.46\frac{dynes}{cm}$ Am I right or wrong? And is there a better/correct way of doing this?

Best Answer

Using the Young-Laplace Equation (if applicable)

Basically a trick question trying to get you to equate the pressure in the question with $\Delta P$ in the Young-Laplace equation.

The actually pressure dependence of water's surface tension is given in On the Evaluation of the Surface Tension-Pressure Coefficient for Pure Liquids

The rate of change of surface tension with respect to pressure is $7 \times 10^{-8} cm$ near atmospheric pressure. So since the question says "Round to the nearest tenth", the pressure effect is insignificant.

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