1.
[syn: capillarity, capillary action]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Capillarity \Cap`il*lar"i*ty\, n. [Cf. F. capillarit['e].]
[1913 Webster]
1. The quality or condition of being capillary.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Physics) The peculiar action by which the surface of a
liquid, where it is in contact with a solid (as in a
capillary tube), is elevated or depressed; capillary
attraction.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Capillarity depends upon the relative attaction of the
modecules of the liquid for each other and for those of
the solid, and is especially observable in capillary
tubes, where it determines the ascent or descent of the
liquid above or below the level of the liquid which the
tube is dipped; -- hence the name.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
capillarity
n 1: a phenomenon associated with surface tension and resulting
in the elevation or depression of liquids in capillaries
[syn: capillarity, capillary action]