A Surface phenomenon is a phenomenon that take place on a surface, the place of contact between different substances.

In most cases, special properties of a surface cause these strange phenomena. The properties of surfaces are so special and important that there is a branch of science, the physics of surfaces, devoted to their study.

Examples

• Why do some insects skate on water instead of sink?
• Why, in some cases, does the water sprinkled on a glass surface collect into drops, but in other cases spread like a thin film?
• Why does water climb up a thin tube?
• Why can you make bubbles with soapy water and not with tap water?

Science | Fluid mechanics | Physical chemistry