Science behind Bubbles

As a kid we played with bubbles but never really thought of how they worked or why they acted the way they did. The YouTube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV6Wh-KX3bY, from the Discovery Channel with Keith Johnson demonstrates exactly this. He explains that as bubbles may seem unpredictable, they actually follow basic laws of nature. The first is that they act like a prism. You may think that bubbles are clear but if you get a closer look you see that bubbles reflect a full spectrum of color. Next he shows that they always want to be round. If the bubble is put out of shape it immediately places itself back into a spherical form. Also bubbles are wet and like to stay that way. Most kids have fun popping bubbles, and it is easily done if their hands are dry; but if your hand is wet and you try to burst the bubble you will actually be able to put your hand inside the bubble. This is possible because your wet hand bonds to the bubble. Finally, Keith Johnson and his team demonstrate how a bubble burst. It may seem like an explosion, but in slow motion you can tell that there is an actually method to this madness. First you see that a bubble burst is a directional event. The bubble is held together by surface tension and the air molecules inside are forcing each other apart, so when a bubble burst these air molecules shoot out. This video shows a lot of interesting clips of bubbles, especially when they are in slow motion. Next time you see a bubble burst you'll know the science behind it!

Posted by Kaitlin Hayes