The theory of all mercury Porosimeters is based on the physical principle that a non-reactive, non-wetting liquid will not penetrate pores until sufficient pressure is applied to force its entrance. The relationship between the applied pressure and the pore size into which mercury will intrude is given by the Washburn equation:
where P is the applied pressure, D is the diameter, is the surface tension of mercury (480 dyne cm-1 and is the contact angle between mercury and the pore wall, usually near 140°. As pressure increases, the instrument senses the intrusion volume of mercury by the change in capacitance between the mercury column and a metal sheath surrounding the stem of the sample cell. As the mercury column shortens, the pressure and volume data are continuously acquired and displayed by an attached personal computer.
is the surface tension of mercury (480 dyne cm-1 and 
is the contact angle between mercury and the pore wall, usually near 140°. As pressure increases, the instrument senses the intrusion volume of mercury by the change in capacitance between the mercury column and a metal sheath surrounding the stem of the sample cell. As the mercury column shortens, the pressure and volume data are continuously acquired and displayed by an attached personal computer.
