Mondo Knows Facts
Surface tension allows water striders to walk on liquid
Cohesive hydrogen bonds draw surface water molecules into an elastic skin-like film
Molecules inside a body of liquid water experience equal attractive forces from all directions, but molecules at the exposed surface lack neighbours above them. As a result, surface molecules pull inward toward the interior, creating net surface tension. This elastic membrane-like force is strong enough to support light objects like paperclips and water insects.
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Tags: physics, water, surface tension
Surface tension allows water striders to walk on liquid: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Cohesive hydrogen bonds draw surface water molecules into an elastic skin-like film. The figure is taken from USGS, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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- Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
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