This fun informative essay is intended to be read as a fun read or from an educational perspective on the process that water and hydrogen take in order to create bubbles. We advise that our readers be at least the age of 15 and some science background to understand basic science content provided. ENJOY!!
No matter how grumpy you are bubbles should always trigger joy, fun and fascination!! Bubbles are never out of fashion. However, how many of us have considered the mechanism of these bubbles? Why are they round ? Why are some bigger ? Why do some last longer? Why do they have color ? Many of us might have but how many of us have done research to answer all
these question ? Maybe few, not too many. Yet, all of these questions have clarifying answers that drift away from the magic we see and into the science within. These bubbles in particular are those that are sold in a convenience stores for a dollar or two and we are usually peer pressured into buying. With all the nagging from our children.
Bubbles as what is known to the human eye is just a playful ball of air that flow for second then POPS! Bubbles are transparent yet they have a reflective rainbow color. Bubbles are usually made up of air trapped inside but can also be made of other gasses such as carbon dioxide. A bubble can be described as a film with layers. Two layers are made of soap and the third layer consist of only water. Hydrophilic are molecules that dissolve in water and create an attraction that leads to bonding of two different molecules. In this case, the two layers of soap are hydrophilic. These molecules contain polar sides, this cause attraction between two things. The polar side of the molecules attracts the water, creating a layer. As expressed by Anne Marie
Helmenstine Ph.D. she describes this process as a sandwich. The soap layers represent the bread and the water layer represent what you put on your sandwich (Helmenstine, Ph.D.). We can think about the layers as a container. The container keeps something inside. For bubbles, these three layers create a container in which they keep air inside and creates a bubble. Not only are these bubbles trapping air inside but also an attempt to make the biggest air bubble they can. Have you ever seen a bubble in the shape of a star, triangle perhaps even a square? If you answered yes, well you are lying. Regardless of how much you puff and huff you will never create a bubble that is not round. This has to do with the amount of energy that is needed to create shapes with greater surface area. Bubbles want to create the biggest bubble with air but want to minimize the amount of energy used and the surface tension. Therefore a rounded shape creates the “smallest surface area for the amount of volume” and by decreasing the surface tension, bubbles can expand while holding their shape (Koontz).
While having beautiful, fun and well rounded bubbles in the air; most of us are tempted to poke the bubbles and watch them disappear in just seconds. What about when the bubbles are not poked into disappearance or when we are too far to poke them. Have you ever thought about why does one bubble last longer or why it went higher than another? Well it is not just magic.
There is a scientific explanation. Evaporation. Most of us should be familiar with this process. The process in which water turns into gas. We have all had times that we would start to do something and completely forget. For instance, when we boil water and forget about it. Just to find out there is no more water in the pot that you filled with water. The longer you allow for temperature to play with water, the more it will evaporate. Bubbles work very similar to this concept. Temperature influence a bubbles “lifespan” and how high it goes. The time that it takes for these molecules are influenced by temperature. “The colder the outside temperature is, the higher a bubble might fly” (Koontz). As the water begins to evaporate the distance between all
three layers begin to decrease which eventually leads to the popping of a bubble. The space between these layers also creates color. Although bubbles are transparent you can see reflection of colors within the bubbles. Remember those bright beautiful rainbow colors you see on bubbles ? [ they are “light waves reflecting between the soap film’s outer and inner surfaces”] (Koontz). Another fascination that comes with bubbles is the eagerness to emerge two bubbles. Holding one bubble with your wand and placing it right next to another in hopes of creating a bigger bubble. Although the magic all seem so simple, there is a little more to it. Bubbles can be combined to make one bigger bubble. Since bubbles tend to minimize surface tension to expand and increase in volume, by combining it is decreasing the surface tension and adding air to the bubble that expands. When poking a bubble with your finger, you are making a hole. That hole releases the air trapped but dissolves the bubble. Unlike combined bubbles. When a bubble taps another bubble, it is indeed making a hole but that hole is covered up the film of the bubble
entering.
Bubbles may seem simple but like everything in life, there is always a bit of science involved. Hopefully you are finish reading this essay with more knowledge than we you started reading it. Although you might think that you are a bubble expert, you’re not. “Blowing soap bubbles is child’s play, but surprisingly, physicists haven’t worked out the details of the phenomenon”(Emily Conover). There is a lot more to this process of bubble making however it is not entirely figured out. Science is complex and constantly changing. Still, next time you blow a bubble you will not only appreciate their magic but also have an understanding of why a bubble was bigger or why it popped so soon. For all those future scientist, challenge the process and try to control the factors to create the biggest bubble!!
