Can my cup hold more tea on the moon?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the physics of liquid surfaces in cups on Earth versus the Moon. When a cup is filled to the brim on Earth, the tea forms a spherical surface due to gravity. However, on the Moon, the reduced gravitational force allows for a larger volume of tea to be held if the cup's sides are angled, creating a horizontal meniscus. This phenomenon occurs independently of gravitational effects, confirming that the radius of the cup influences the volume of liquid it can contain.

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  • Understanding of fluid dynamics and surface tension
  • Basic knowledge of gravitational effects on liquids
  • Familiarity with the concept of meniscus in liquids
  • Knowledge of geometry related to angles and volumes
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Dadface
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If I fill my cup to the brim on Earth the surface of the tea is spherical and concentric with the Earth's centre.It's like a mini ocean of tea.If I do the same thing on the moon my mini ocean of tea has a smaller radius and therefore a larger volume.Discounting evaporation,expansion/contraction and surface tension edge effects is there a flaw in my reasoning?
 
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Hi Dadface! :smile:
Dadface said:
If I fill my cup to the brim on Earth the surface of the tea is spherical and concentric with the Earth's centre.It's like a mini ocean of tea.If I do the same thing on the moon my mini ocean of tea has a smaller radius and therefore a larger volume.Discounting evaporation,expansion/contraction and surface tension edge effects is there a flaw in my reasoning?

Yes, if the sides of the cup are angled so that the meniscus (the slope of the liquid where it touches the cup) is horizontal, then the centre of the surface will be above the level of the rim, and you can fit more in if the radius is smaller (and independently of g). :smile:
 
tiny-tim said:
Hi Dadface! :smile:


Yes, if the sides of the cup are angled so that the meniscus (the slope of the liquid where it touches the cup) is horizontal, then the centre of the surface will be above the level of the rim, and you can fit more in if the radius is smaller (and independently of g). :smile:

Thanks for confirming that tiny-tim.Now I fancy a nice cuppa.:-p
 

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