Unpublished paper, 'On the surface forces in fluids' by A M [Arthur Mason] Worthington

Description

The object of Worthington's paper is 'to deduce from consideration of the known thermal and elastic properties of fluids, the fact that at their bounding surface there is a rapid variation of density, on account of which the surface layers exert either a tension or a pressure on any material wall which cuts them transversely, from which action the phenomena of capillarity are easily deduced; and to exhibit clearly the manner in which the intrinsic energy per unit of volume of the surface layers exceeds or falls short of that in the interior of the fluid, and also to point out a certain important change which it is necessary to introduce into the commonly accepted explanation of the equilibrium of a fluid in contact with a solid; and, finally, to show why the erroneous assumption of a constant density near the surface, made by Laplace, did not prevent his obtaining the true equation to the liquid surface, while it did prevent him from perceiving the reality of the surface-tension.'

Includes two diagrams in the text.

Subject: Physics

Received 22 February 1884. Read 28 February 1884. Communicated by [Balfour] Stewart.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 36 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the surface forces in fluids'.

Reference number

AP/63/5

Earliest possible date

1884

Physical description

Ink and graphite pencil on paper

Page extent

88 pages

Format

Manuscript
Diagram