Jc. Earnshaw et al., THE DROP VOLUME METHOD FOR INTERFACIAL-TENSION DETERMINATION - AN ERROR ANALYSIS, Journal of colloid and interface science, 177(1), 1996, pp. 150-155
An error analysis of the drop volume method of determination of surfac
e or interfacial tension is presented. It is shown that the presence o
f the empirical correction term may lead to either a decrease or an in
crease in the final uncertainty of the calculated tension. Recommendat
ions to maximize the precision of measurement are made. It is further
shown that the systematic error due to the correction term is less tha
n 0.04%; under the conditions recommended to minimize the statistical
uncertainty, the systematic error should be less than half this figure
. Tabulations of recommended values of the correction function are giv
en. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.