Question

In what direction does the force of surface tension act

Answer 1

Answer:

Surface tension acts inwardly, towards the body of the object. It is perpendicular to the surface of the object. If the object is curved, it is perpendicular to the tangent of the object's surface.

Answer 2

Answer:

First - surface tension can be thought of as "energy needed to create surface area". In that regard, you can think of a liquid water surface like a 2D spring: the more you stretch it, the more energy it costs. But it is nothing like a spring in the sense that the energy per unit area is constant (where in a spring energy goes as the square of the displacement).