2014 We describe a method for the measurement of interfacial tensions in the millidyne/cm range by measuring the diffuse part of the total internally reflected light produced when the interfaces are illuminated close to the critical angle. This method has been used to measure the optimal interfacial tension in toluene-brine microemulsions in simultaneous equilibrium with the oil and aqueous pha...

Self-motion of physical-chemical systems is a promising avenue for studying and developing mechanical functions with inanimate systems. In this paper, we investigate spontaneous motion of collections of solid macroscopic benzoquinone (BQ) disks at the air-water interface without intervention of chemical reactions. The BQ particles slowly dissolve and create heterogeneous interfacial tension fie...

Turbine oil plays an important role in supporting optimal steam turbine performance. Some additives in turbine oil can cause emulsification when the oil is contaminated by water, so demulsibility is a very important property of the steam turbine oil. In order to improve the demulsibility of steam turbine oil, two kinds of polyether-silicone comb copolymers are synthesized and used as steam turb...

Article history: Received 11 January 2009 Received in revised form 21 August 2009 Accepted 8 September 2009 Available online 13 October 2009