Surface stress

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/surface-stress

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the discoverer?Josiah Willard Gibbs
2. What is the thermodynamic definition?Reversible work per unit area to elastically stretch an existing surface
3. Why do atoms on a surface have more energy than atoms inside a solid?Surface atoms have fewer neighbors, so their bonds are not fully satisfied. This makes them higher in energy than atoms inside the bulk.
4. How does surface stress affect tiny materials like nanoparticles?Because tiny materials have a lot of surface compared to their inside, surface stress can change how strong or stretchy they are, making them behave differently from larger pieces.

Thermodynamics: The branch of physics concerned with heat, work, temperature, and energy.
Surface Free Energy: The excess free energy per unit area required to create a new surface.
Anisotropy: Having properties that differ depending on the direction in which they are measured.
Cohesive Forces: Intermolecular attractive forces holding a substance together.