Disclaimer: I'm not a physicist.
If you take an apple or a ball (or a cylinder works too) and put it under a tap such that the water falls down the side (not the centre) of the sphere, you get water flow roughly like this:
It seems to me that the fluid is sticking to the surface of the ball and due to viscosity or whatnot the water holds itself together and creates this strange “following the direction of the ball” behaviour until the angle of the surface would be upward and then gravity is greater than the momentum + this stickiness and it falls down.
What do you call this kind of phenomenon? Does this specific case have a name? Has it ever been used for something practical? I expect the speed that the water's falling also contributes, e.g. at terminal velocity it might just brush right past the apple rather than being curved. Is that right?
Best Answer
Liquid adhesion ...
...is used in some gutters