Ionization-induced surface tension reduction of water droplets

Abstract

Ionization has been proposed to change natural properties of liquids by influencing surface tension; however, microphysical mechanism has not been well established. Our general physical model to link surface tension and ionization rate shows that radiation-induced ionization may significantly lower the surface tension of tiny water droplets (1-100 nm). Our estimation shows that a few electric charges are sufficient to reduce the surface tension, for instance, of a water droplet with 10 nm radius. Ionization-induced surface tension phenomenon may have impact on many industrial and natural situations, for instance, linking a possible microphysical route to cloud formation by cosmic rays.