Question

You are studying droplets of various solutions and comparing them to water. what shape do they start as?

Answer 1

Droplets begin as spherical shape before the influence of gravity determines their subsequent shape. Droplets of a liquid that are small enough evade the influences of gravity to the minimalist, due to their small surface area, hence maintains their spherical shape. As the droplet gets bigger, the increasing interfacial tension by gravity causes the internal pressure of the droplet to rise causing them to change shape vis-à-vis their viscosity.

Answer 2

In the case of liquid droplets, including water, surface tension is the factor, which is accountable for their shapes and configuration. Though can easily be malformed, the droplets of water seem to be pulled into a spherical shape due to the cohesive forces of the surface layer.

In the non-existence of other forces, involving gravity, the drops of almost all the liquids would be almost spherical.