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  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Capillarity  \Cap`il*lar"i*ty\,  n.  [Cf.  F.  capillarit['e].] 
  1.  The  quality  or  condition  of  being  capillary. 
 
  2.  (Physics)  The  peculiar  action  by  which  the  surface  of  a 
  liquid,  where  it  is  in  contact  with  a  solid  (as  in  a 
  capillary  tube),  is  elevated  or  depressed;  capillary 
  attraction. 
 
  Note:  Capillarity  depends  upon  the  relative  attaction  of  the 
  modecules  of  the  liquid  for  each  other  and  for  those  of 
  the  solid,  and  is  especially  observable  in  capillary 
  tubes,  where  it  determines  the  ascent  or  descent  of  the 
  liquid  above  or  below  the  level  of  the  liquid  which  the 
  tube  is  dipped;  --  hence  the  name 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  capillarity 
  n  :  a  phenomenon  associated  with  surface  tension  and  resulting 
  in  the  elevation  or  depression  of  liquids  in  capillaries 
  [syn:  {capillary  action}] 

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