Description
This clumping behavior applies to any small macroscopic object that floats or clings to the surface of a liquid. This can include a multitude of things, including hair particles in shaving cream and fizzy beer bubbles. The effect is not noticeable for boats and other large floating objects because the force of surface tension is relatively small at that scale. (The Casimir effect, with a similar result, occurs at nanoscopic scale, and boats and other large objects floating in a choppy sea are subject to its classical equivalent; both are caused by waves, not surface tension.)
Read more about this topic: Cheerios Effect
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“An intentional object is given by a word or a phrase which gives a description under which.”
—Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe (b. 1919)
“It is possible—indeed possible even according to the old conception of logic—to give in advance a description of all ‘true’ logical propositions. Hence there can never be surprises in logic.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)
“The type of fig leaf which each culture employs to cover its social taboos offers a twofold description of its morality. It reveals that certain unacknowledged behavior exists and it suggests the form that such behavior takes.”
—Freda Adler (b. 1934)