On Wed, 20 Nov 2002 12:36:24 +0000, Kay Easton
wrote:


But if there is a barrier dividing the water into two, and this barrier
is such that water can get through but salt can't, the tendency is still
to try to even out the strength of the solution across the barrier, but
the only way this can happen is for water to go through the barrier from
the dilute side to the concentrated side. This is osmosis.

Capilliary action is the tendency for water to seep from wet area to dry
area - which can happen upwards if the route for seepage is small - eg
it's between the particles of soil.

Yup, I got the wrong term. At school I believe they called it
capillary action. Anyhoo, I wouldn't want to stand a pot in water
unless it there was some charcoal or something else to sweeten the
water. It could get very fetid otherwise and full of nasties.

Hussein