Measurement of forces in liquids using a force microscope

摘要: A force microscope has been used to measure surface forces between a colloidal sphere (3.5 pm radius) and a flat surface in aqueous solution. The force between silica surfaces was measured as a function of surface separation, salt concentration, and pH, and the results agree well both with earlier measurements between macroscopic surfaces and, at separations greater than 3 nm, with theforce predicted by DLVO theory. The technique is simple and reproducible and could be used to measure the forces acting on other colloid …