Talk:Tears of wine

Liquid?
I think that the references to 'liquid' should be changed to something else. Are we talking about water here? Solution? Solvent? The alcohol in wine is liquid at room temperature, as are most household alcohols. It doesn't make sense to call refer to the non-alcoholic part of a solution as 'liquid', since alcohol is liquid too, and part of the liquid solution. Propose 'water'. 132.216.227.197 (talk) 05:34, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Pull

 * "If alcohol is mixed with water inhomogeneously, a region with a lower concentration of alcohol will pull on the surrounding fluid more strongly than a region with a higher alcohol concentration."

?--Abdull (talk) 23:07, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
 * will pull on the surrounding fluid or
 * will pull on the surrounding solid

Doubt about explanation
I have significant doubts that the explanation for this effect is based on capillary action. While I realize this is not the forum for this type of discussion, I believe readers should accept the theory as expressed here with caution. My reasoning is that if it is indeed capillary action that draws the liquid up the walls, then imagine if the liquid is higher in the glass than the one pictured, say nearly to the top. It should crawl over the top and coat the outside of the glass, if it is simply capillary movement. This would allow the drink to partially leave its container, but that is not what ever happens. I believe a better explanation is that the water and alcohol vapor are condensed onto the walls. I have no clear understanding of why more water is present at the top than at the bulk liquid surface. It is possible that both the surface energy of the glass as well as the high vapor concentration both contribute to this effect, but capillary action is generally seen only in small confined tubes/spaces. (for instance the small voids between hairs, or in the voids inside a piece of paper.) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 40.142.179.182 (talk) 22:02, 1 May 2017 (UTC)