Twenty Years of Surface Tension Measurements in Space

A brief excursus is presented on the development of techniques and methods for surface tension measurements in microgravity conditions, with a specific reference to the author's Group contributions. The two main techniques already available, namely the Capillary Tensiometry and the Levitated Drop Method are presented, and their application to systems both at ambient temperature and in the high temperature ranges critically discussed. After a survey of the principal results already obtained in real microgravity conditions, an analysis of the potential such methods still have for future applications is given.