Confirmation of the Gibbs Theory of Elasticity of Soap Films

As long ago as 1878 Gibbs gave an explanation for the fact that liquid soap films behave as elastic membranes, whereas pure liquids do not; he assumed that as a result of adsorption on the surfaces, the solution becomes depleted in surface-active solute, and therefore the surface tension increases w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1962-05, Vol.194 (4829), p.676-677
Main Author: KITCHENER, J. A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:As long ago as 1878 Gibbs gave an explanation for the fact that liquid soap films behave as elastic membranes, whereas pure liquids do not; he assumed that as a result of adsorption on the surfaces, the solution becomes depleted in surface-active solute, and therefore the surface tension increases with extension of the lamella. The modulus of elasticity, E , of a lamella is defined by: where γ is the surface tension of the lamella at an area A and thickness L .
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/194676a0