Three everyday habits of liquids come from one cause: the pull between molecules. Drop a steel
bead through six real liquids, bead a drop on a surface, then lift a column up a narrow tube.
Viscositya bead falling at steady speed
Controls
Liquid
Steel bead radius: 0.050 mm
Temperature: 25 °C
Surface: clean glass
Contact angle: 20°
Soap added to water: 0%
Tube radius: 0.25 mm
Glass walls. Water, ethanol, acetone and oil wet glass, so they climb.
Mercury does not wet glass, so it is pushed down instead.