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Cohesion and Adhesion

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State

Cohesion is water's tendency to stick to itself through hydrogen bonds; adhesion is its tendency to stick to other polar surfaces.

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A water strider's weight is held up by cohesion at the surface, while water climbing a thin glass tube shows adhesion.

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Cohesion holds water to water; adhesion holds water to another material — the same hydrogen bonding produces both.

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