The history of the science of surface tension is even longer and more distinguished that the history of solubilization. Benjamin Franklin published a study of the effect of an insoluble fatty acid oil on the surface of water in the Transactions of the Royal Society of London.

These articles explain the basic science behind the phenomenon of surface tension while discussing the principles behind a simple but powerful technique for measuring the surface tension of liquids.

Articles

• Inverted Vertical Pull Surface Tension Method

• Directional Converter Arm Method for Surface and Interfacial Tension Measurements with a Top-Loading Balance

• Contact Angles of Surfactant Solutions on Precipitated Surfactant Surfaces I

• Contact Angles of Surfactant Solutions on Precipitated Surfactant Surfaces II

Recommended Reading

• Fluorinated Surfactants and Repellents, 2ndEd., E. Kissa, Ed., Marcel Dekker, New York, NY (2001),

• Wettability, J. C. Berg (Ed.), Marcel Dekker, New York, 1993,

• Physical Chemistry of Surfaces, 6th Edition,A. W. Adamson, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1997,

• Ben Franklin Stilled the Waves, C. Tanford, Duke University Press, London, 1989,

• Intermolecular and Surface Forces, J. N. Israelachvili, Academic Press, New York, 1985,

• The Physics and Chemistry of Surface Films, 3rd Edition, N. K. Adam, Oxford, London, 1941,

• The Physical Chemistry of Surface Films, W. D. Harkins, Reinhold, New York, 1952,

• Soap Bubbles and the Forces that Mould Them, C. V. Boys, Reprint Edition, Doubleday Anchor Books, Science Study Series S3, Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1959 (reprint of 1890 edition),

• The Ingenious Dr. Franklin: Scientific Letters of Benjamin Franklin, edited by Nathan Goodman, University of Philadelphia Press, 1956,

• Introduction to Colloid and Surface Chemistry, D. J. Shaw, Butterworths, London, 1966,

• Insoluble Monolayers at Liquid-Gas Interfaces, G. L. Gaines, Inter­science, New York, 1966,

• "Historical Aspects of Surfactant Adsorption at Liquid Surfaces," C. H. Giles, in Solution Behavior of Surfactants, Theoretical and Applied Aspects, Volume 1, K. L. Mittal and E. J. Fendler, Eds., Plenum, New York and London, 113-122, 1982,

• S. Ozeki, M. Tsunoda, and S. Ikeda, J. Coll. Interface Sci. 64, 28 (1978),

• Surfactants and Interfacial Phenomena, 3rd Ed. Milton J. Rosen, John Wiley and Sons, New York, Chapters 2 and 5, 2004,

• Molecular Engineering of Ultrathin Films, P. Stroeve and E. Franses (Eds.), Elsevier, New York, 1987,