 In practice the contact angle is rarely measured, instead either literature values are used, or complete wetting (formula_8) is assumed.If complete wetting is assumed (contact angle = 0), no correction factors are required to calculate surface tensions when using the Wilhelmy plate, unlike for a Du Noüy ring.In addition, because the plate is not moved during measurements, the Wilhelmy plate allows accurate determination of surface kinetics on a wide range of timescales, and it displays low operator variance.