Andy Bernoff Lecture: An Introduction to Surface Tension (Or Why Raindrops are Spherical)

A common misconception is that raindrops take the form of teardrops. In fact, they tend to be nearly spherical due to surface tension forces. We will also examine some examples of the behavior that can occur at small scales due to the balance between fluid-fluid and fluid-solid forces, with applications as varied as understanding how detergents help clean clothes to the design of fuel tanks in zero gravity environments.