The thesis presents a technique for and results of surface force measurements in a 3-phase system. The phases are a solid medium (mica), fluid (water and water-based electrolyte solutions) and gas (an air bubble). Analysis of deformation of the air bubble with respect to mutual position of the bubble and the mica surface, the capillary pressure of the undeformed bubble surface, the capillary pressure, and the disjoining pressure provide data for calculation of the air-liquid surface electrical potential. Furthermore, the information extracted from the deformation analysis made it possible to draw a conclusion regarding the nature of electrical double-layer forces in the system and, to some degree, about the effect of ion properties on the surface charging properties of the air-liquid interface. / Surface forces between an air bubble and a flat mica surface immersed in aqueous electrolyte solutions have been investigated using a modified surface force apparatus. This method allows forces to be detected in two regimes: at long range where the bubble is distorted slightly by the surface forces, and at short range where the force is manifest as disjoining pressure in a thin wetting film separating the bubble from the solid. The force was calculated from the equilibrium (or quasi-equilibrium) shape of the bubble surface. The experiments clearly show that long-range double-layer repulsion acts between mica and an air bubble in water and electrolyte solutions of different concentration. Double-layer repulsion indicates that the air bubble surface is negatively charged. However, there is clear evidence that charge regulation occurs at the air-water interface to maintain a constant surface potential, and as a result of this, the charge at this interface changes from negative to positive as the bubble approaches the negatively charged mica surface. Because of the attraction that arises due to the charge reversal, excessive force is required to separate the bubble from the mica, though the mica remains completely wetted by the aqueous phase. / The air-liquid surface potential has been evaluated from fitting a theoretically calculated shape to experimental measurements of bubble shape and film thickness, where the theoretical bubble shape was obtained from the numerical solution of the augmented Young-Laplace equation. Potential on the air bubble surface mainly depends on the concentration of electrolyte but is insensitive to the type of cation or anion within the low range of concentration investigated here. / The more important issue for such concentrations appears to be the electrostatic interaction between ions in solution and the air bubble interface. Therefore at the concentrations investigated, the potential on the gas-liquid interface arises due to the non-specific adsorption of ions to oriented water dipoles at the interface. / Thesis ([PhDApSc(MineralsandMaterials)])--University of South Australia, 2005.

Includes abstract / Bibliography: leaves (8-1)-(8-10) / 1 v. (various pagings) : ill ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, 1988

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio University, June, 1991. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University (Canada), 1994. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 58-06, Section: B, page: 3088. Adviser: D. L. Welch.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physics, and Mathematical Physics, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-163).

Thesis (M.Sc)--University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 1995. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: Sotira Yiacoumi; Committee Co-Chair: Costas Tsouris; Committee Member: Ching-Hua Huang; Committee Member: Sankar Nair; Committee Member: Spyros G. Pavlostathis.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.115-118).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, May, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005. / Phillip First, Committee Member ; Gee-Kung Chang, Committee Member ; John Buck, Committee Member ; Glenn Smith, Committee Member ; Thomas Gaylord, Committee Chair. Includes bibliographical references.