page_title: Drop (liquid)
section_title: Capillary length
hierarchical_section_title: Drop (liquid) / Shape / Capillary length
caption_attribution_description: English: Diagram of sessile drops compared to Capillary Length
context_page_description: A drop or droplet is a small column of liquid, bounded completely or almost completely by free surfaces. A drop may form when liquid accumulates at the lower end of a tube or other surface boundary, producing a hanging drop called a pendant drop. Drops may also be formed by the condensation of a vapor or by atomization of a larger mass of liquid.
context_section_description: The capillary length is a length scaling factor that relates gravity and surface tension, and is directly responsible for the shape a droplet for a specific fluid will take. The capillary length stems from the Laplace pressure, using the radius of the droplet.
  Using the capillary length we can define microdrops and macrodrops. Microdrops are droplets with radius smaller than the capillary length, where the shape of the droplet is governed solely by surface tension and they form a spherical cap shape. If a droplet has a radius larger than the capillary length, they are known as macrodrops and the gravitational forces will dominate. Macrodrops will be 'flattened' by gravity and the height of the droplet will be reduced.
caption: The capillary length 
    
      
        
          
            L
            
              c
            
          
        
      
      {\displaystyle L_{c}}
    
   against radii of a droplet
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