SURFACE-TENSION FORCE ON A PARTLY SUBMERGED BODY

The vertical component of the surface tension force on a body partly s ubmerged in a liquid is shown to equal the weight of liquid displaced by the meniscus. It is upward if the meniscus is depressed and downwar d if the meniscus is elevated. Previously this was known for vertical axially symmetric bodies and for two-dimensional vertical plates. The vertical component of the pressure force on the body is shown to equal the weight of liquid which would fill the volume bounded by the wette d surface of the body, a vertical cylinder through the waterline, and the original horizontal free surface. (C) 1998 American Institute of P hysics. [S1070-6631(98)02111-4].