A note on capillary rise in tubes

Results are presented from an experiment on capillary rise of water in inclined small-bore (Φ = 1.92 mm) cylindrical tubes. A series of thick-walled tubes with different lengths and taken from the same glass rod was used, and the angle of inclination towards the vertical, α, was varied from 0° to 88°. Results indicate that the capillary rise progressively reduces for increasing α, contrary to Jurin’s law predictions. It is observed further that the meniscus seems not to change in shape while varying the tube orientation. Possible consequences of the above observations on the statics of capillary tubes are commented. In the frame of the discussion, an alternative and more general approach for the derivation of the Jurin’s law is proposed.