The Science of Sponges: Understanding their Function and Behavior

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Sponges operate through the phenomenon of wetting, which is not fully understood and involves complex interactions with atmospheric pressure and gravitational fields. Their ability to absorb water, even against gravity, raises questions about the mechanics of fluid movement in porous materials. Modeling sponges in microgravity presents challenges due to the absence of an equilibrium surface, complicating energy definitions. Research into related fields like percolation and soil drainage may provide insights into sponge behavior. Understanding these mechanisms could enhance knowledge of fluid dynamics in both sponges and broader applications.
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How do sponges work? Are they trivial? Do they depend on atmospheric pressure to operate? What is the behavior of a sponge in a gravitational field i.e. how does this effect the soaking of water 'uphill'? If sponges are non-trivial than I would be curious to see attempts at modeling them.
 
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Sponges work via wetting, which is a poorly-understood physical phenomenon.

Modeling sponges (or soil, a more relevant problem) in microgravity is complicated by the fact that there is no equilibrium surface, so there is no obvious way to define a minimum energy.

Look up any work on percolation, soil drainage, flow in porous media, etc.
 
This is an interesting question.I think surface tension comes into it the water rising up through narrow capillaries in the sponge.Some clues might be gained by looking at the transpiration stream of plants.
 
Thank you for the responses, now I am able to find many results for 'wetting physics' along the lines I was looking for such as this one:

http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0953-8984/18/28/N01
 
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