Equilibrium Capillary Surfaces

Capillarity phenomena are all about us; anyone who has seen a drop of dew on a plant leaf or the spray from a waterfall has observed them. Apart from their frequently remarked poetic qualities, phenomena of this sort are so familiar as to escape special notice. In this sense the rise of liquid in a narrow tube is a more dramatic event that demands and at first defied explanation; recorded observations of this and similar occur­ rences can be traced back to times of antiquity, and for lack o...