[dzoys]

let me briefly explain.

water: has stronger adhesion for glass than for itself so the meniscus is a smiley face (if there is a term for this id like to be reminded)

mercury: has stronger cohesiion to itself than adhesion to glass so the meniscus frowns.

osmosis: water diffusion through a semipermeable membrane (conceptually it seems diffusion better fits my question)

now we have a sponge. lots of holes... i wondered how it absorbs so much water with all the holes. it came to me... the adhesive forces overcome the cohesive forces (better known as surface tension) the holes in the sponge increase the surface area for the adhesive forces. the surface tension/cohesive force allows the water to accumulate in the spaces of the holes.

with temperature.. is there a calculation that measures or predicts the rate of absorption?

my professor told me this was a spacey question and told me to focus but i know this "concept vision" (if you will) is bothering me.

any feedback is appreciated. perhaps it will allow me to pose the question to my professor with brevity.

[fledarmus]

You might want to look into some basic information on capillary forces - I believe that is what you are asking

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capillary_force

That may help you to pose your question a little more specifically.

[dzoys]

You might want to look into some basic information on capillary forces - I believe that is what you are asking

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capillary_force

That may help you to pose your question a little more specifically.

thank you very much. i need to put this to rest! this is a huge help