How does absorption work? Why is it that rubbing yourself with a towel mostly dries you off, but rubbing yourself with a banana or a rock doesn’t?

Question

Sorry if I got the flair wrong, I actually don’t even know what kind of science is at play here!

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

There’s two forces involved. There are *cohesive* forces that bond the water to itself, and there’s *adhesive* forces that can connect the water to some other thing. The relative strength of these forces is the important part. (These properties are determined by the materials you’re using)

When you have low amounts of adhesion, then the water stays together, and doesn’t absorb into the material. This is the banana or rock example.

When you have high adhesion, then it overcomes the cohesive force, and it combines with your towel.