Question

Liquids flow from a higher to a lower level. Which liquid can climb up the walls of a glass vessel in which it is kept?
A. Liquid helium
B. Alcohol
C. Water
D. Liquid nitrogen

Answer 1

Hint: Certain fluids show a property of having 0 viscosity and hence they can flow without loss of any kinetic energy.

Complete step by step solution:
The property of being able to flow without any loss of kinetic energy is called Superfluidity.
These fluids are able to climb up the walls of the container they are kept in due to 0 viscosity.
Superfluidity is found to occur in isotopes of helium. Helium (III) and Helium (IV) are the liquid forms of helium which are liquefied by cooling till cryogenic temperatures. They then show the property of climbing uphill.
Hence, option A is correct.

Additional information:
Helium is the lightest noble gas. It was first detected by an astronaut. Atomic number of helium is 2 and its electronic configuration is \[{\rm{1}}{{\rm{s}}^2}\]. It is known that when hydrogen undergoes nuclear fission in stars, a significantly great amount of helium is generated.
It is used in nuclear reactors, lasers, compressed air tanks and as a coolant. Helium has the lowest melting and boiling points. Helium is also used in production of germanium and silicon crystals.

Note: The phenomenon of superfluidity can be easily confused with Bose-Einstein condensation. But, remember these are not the same phenomenon. Superfluids have 0 viscosity.