Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
We report experimental measurements of the adhesion force between metallic substrates in undersaturated heptane vapor atmosphere, with a surface force apparatus. The attractive force between the substrates is strongly dependant of the condensation of a liquid bridge connecting the surfaces. The results show the importance of wetting phenomena for the maximum attractive force: we find that this maximum attraction varies as the power two-third of the curvature of the meniscus connecting the surfaces, in good agreement with the theory of Van der Waals wetting.