The Measurement of Solid-Liquid Contact Angles

A new method is proposed for measuring solid-liquid contact angles. The well-known phenomenon where the liquid meniscus formed under a downward facing solid surface spontaneously breaks at a certain height is utilized in the contact angle measurements. The relation between the contact angle and the critical height of the solid surface where the instability occurs was derived theoretically from the solid-liquid wetting behavior using a thermodynamic approach. From the theoretical model the contact angles can be obtained by measuring the critical height of the solid. The validity of the analysis and the usefulness of the method were experimentally confirmed for various solid surfaces and test liquids.