what is the physical nature of the hydrogen bond
Hydrogen bond A hydrogen atom attached to a relatively electronegative atom will play the role of the hydrogen bond donor.[11] This electronegative atom is usually fluorine, oxygen, or nitrogen. A hydrogen attached to carbon can also participate in hydrogen bonding when the carbon atom is bound to electronegative atoms, as is the case in chloroform, CHCl3.[12][13][14] An example of a hydrogen bond donor is the hydrogen from the hydroxyl group of ethanol, which is bonded to an oxygen.
Surface tension At liquid–air interfaces, surface tension results from the greater attraction of liquid molecules to each other (due to cohesion) than to the molecules in the air (due to adhesion). The net effect is an inward force at its surface that causes the liquid to behave as if its surface were covered with a stretched elastic membrane. Thus, the surface becomes under tension from the imbalanced forces, which is probably where the term "surface tension" came from.[1] Because of the relatively high attraction of water molecules for each other through a web of hydrogen bonds, water has a higher surface tension (72.8 millinewtons per meter at 20 °C) compared to that of most other liquids. Surface tension is an important factor in the phenomenon of capillarity.