A: Read the bottom of a concave meniscus.
B: Read the top of a convex meniscus.

Meniscus, plural: menisci, from the Greek for "crescent", is a curve in the surface of a liquid and is produced in response to the surface of the container or . It can be either concave or convex. A convex meniscus occurs when the molecules of the liquid repel the molecules of the container or object. This may be seen between mercury and glass in barometers. Conversely, a concave meniscus occurs when the molecules of the liquid attract those of the container. This can be seen between water and glass. Surface tension acts on concave menisci to pull the liquid up, and on convex menisci to pull the liquid down. This phenomenon is important in transpirational pull in plants. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Look up Convex set in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... General Name, Symbol, Number mercury, Hg, 80 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 6, d Appearance silvery Standard atomic weight 200. ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this sphere from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this sphere from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... In physics, surface tension is an effect within the surface layer of a liquid that causes that layer to behave as an elastic sheet. ... Transpirational pull is the main phenomenon driving the flow of sap in the xylem tissues of large plants. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta—liverworts Anthocerotophyta—hornworts Bryophyta—mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta—ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta—seed ferns Pinophyta—conifers Cycadophyta—cycads Ginkgophyta—ginkgo Gnetophyta—gnetae Magnoliophyta—flowering plants...

When reading a scale on the side of a container filled with liquid, the meniscus must be taken into account in order to obtain an accurate measurement.

See also

• Capillary action
• Contact angle
• Surface tension

The curve in the water is not the meniscus. The acual meniscus is an immaginary line that runs straight through either the top or bottom in the curve of water. Capillary action, capillarity, or capillary motion is the ability of a substance (the standard reference is to a tube in plants but can be seen readily with porous paper) to draw a substance up against gravity. ... Image from a video contact angle device. ... In physics, surface tension is an effect within the surface layer of a liquid that causes that layer to behave as an elastic sheet. ...