Abstract
The relationships between surface tension of molten tin and its temperature coefficient with temperature and oxygen partial pressure were elucidated from the thermodynamic analysis. The emphasis is placed on the influence of the oxygen potential on the surface tension of molten tin. The surface tension of molten tin has been determined by a set of self-developed digital equipment with sessile drop method at oxygen partial pressure of 1.0 × 10－6 MPa under different temperatures, and the dependence of surface tension of molten tin on temperature has been also discussed. Based on the summarized relationships of surface tension of molten tin with temperature and oxygen partial pressure reported in literatures, the reasons of the difference in those reported data have been analyzed. Surface tensions of the same molten tin sample measured by using different equipments with sessile drop method have been compared also. Results of the comparison indicate that the measured results with sessile drop method under the approximate experimental conditions are coincident, and the self-developed digital equipment for surface tension measurement has higher stability and accuracy.
