A characteristic property of water is that it has strong cohesive forces and a very high surface tension due to the attractive forces between water particles. The high surface tension causes bubbles to be spherical, since a sphere has the smallest surface area for its volume of any shape. The physical properties of compounds reflect the nature of the interactions among their molecules. Water molecules are polar, which enables the negative end of one molecule to attract the positive end of a neighboring water molecule, ultimately causing water's strong cohesive force. The electric force is a universal force that exists between any two charged objects.
Water is a polar molecule, resulting from the uneven distribution of charge in the molecule.
Between any two charged particles, electric force is vastly greater than the gravitational force. The force of attraction between water molecules in a soap bubble counters the gravitational force. Page maintained by Steve Gentle, Research Associate.