Contact angle, wettability, and adhesion

In his opening remarks at the first symposium in this series Professor Robert Good pointed out that Galileo in the 17 century was quite likely the first investigator to observe contact angle behavior with his experiment of floating a thin gold leaf on top of a water surface. Since that time contact angle measurements have found wide application as a method for determining the energetics of surfaces. This, in turn, has a profound effect on the wettability and adhesion of liquids and coatings to surfaces.