Derive the formula for the excess of pressure (pressure difference) inside a liquid drop and a soap bubble.

Vedclass pdf generator app on play store
Vedclass iOS app on app store
(N/A) Consider a liquid drop of radius $r$ with internal pressure $P_i$ and external pressure $P_o$. The excess pressure is $\Delta P = P_i - P_o$.
$1$. For a liquid drop:
The surface area is $A = 4\pi r^2$. If the radius increases by $\Delta r$,the change in area is $\Delta A = 8\pi r \Delta r$. The work done against surface tension $S$ is $W = S \Delta A = S(8\pi r \Delta r)$.
This work is done by the excess pressure: $W = (P_i - P_o) \Delta V = (P_i - P_o) (4\pi r^2 \Delta r)$.
Equating the two: $(P_i - P_o) (4\pi r^2 \Delta r) = S(8\pi r \Delta r) \implies P_i - P_o = \frac{2S}{r}$.
$2$. For a soap bubble:
$A$ soap bubble has two free surfaces (inner and outer). Thus,the work done is $W = 2 \times S \Delta A = 2S(8\pi r \Delta r)$.
Equating the work: $(P_i - P_o) (4\pi r^2 \Delta r) = 16\pi r S \Delta r \implies P_i - P_o = \frac{4S}{r}$.

Explore More

Similar Questions

If a cube of ice is placed in gravity-free space,what happens when the ice melts?

Two mercury droplets of radii $0.1 \ cm$ and $0.2 \ cm$ coalesce into one single drop. What amount of energy is released? The surface tension of mercury is $T = 435.5 \times 10^{-3} \ N \ m^{-1}$.

Difficult
View Solution

$A$ big drop is formed by coalescing $1000$ small droplets of water. The surface energy will become :

Which of the following statements are true when two water drops coalesce to form a bigger drop?

Two soap bubbles of radius $2 \ cm$ and $4 \ cm$,respectively,are in contact with each other. The radius of curvature of the common surface,in $cm$,is . . . . . . .

Vedclass Products

For Students

Vedclass Test Series

Mock tests in real JEE/NEET style with performance analysis. 5-day free trial.

Start Free Trial
For Teachers

Exam Paper Generator

Generate Set A/B/C/D exam papers from 7.5L+ questions in 2 minutes. 3 chapters free.

Try Free
For Institutes

Online Exam Module

Live online exams with unlimited students, 360° analytics & white-label branding.

See Demo