Rise of liquids and bubbles in angular capillary tubes

We discuss the rise of a liquid inside an angular capillary tube. It is shown that for a wetting liquid, the height of the rise is (as usually) inversely proportional to the length which characterizes the confinement. The exact laws deduced from energetic considerations are found to be in excellent agreement with the data. We then show how such tubes can be used to prevent bubbles from being trapped. The rising velocity of a bubble is finally discussed, in the particular case of a square tube. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).