Trouble with Bubbles

Colors As mentioned in the last blog post, I will be discussing the science behind the cool colors of bubbles in this blog post. Spend 30 seconds trying to describe the bubble’s color. It is impossible to ascribe a single color to a bubble, as a bubble has an iridescent nature; in other words, the color shifts wildly from different angles. The same iridescence appears on numerous other objects in nature; for example, a gasoline spill’s swirling rainbow patterns on its surface, or a butterfly wing’s shimmery color. While deceivingly simple, there is a surprising amount of science behind the colors that appear on a soap bubble. In this post, I will be attempting to provide an easy-to-understand explanation of the iridescence of a bubble. The post will be broken down into subsections to help with this explanation. Light To begin with, we investigate the driving force behind color: light. Light is an “electromagnetic wave”, meaning that when it travels through space, it ...

Those who are on your iPhone a lot may have seen this image: as it was the stock background for many iPhones. A cursory glance at this image may lead one to believe this is an extraterrestrial planet; I too was mesmerized by this image, when I realized that this was actually the surface of a bubble shot at a close distance. As I alluded to in my previous posts, light shone on bubbles should theoretically have stunning results. In practice, however, most bubble photographs are unflattering and boring. This is because it is extremely tricky to shine a light on a bubble properly in order to capture its capricious colors. I wanted to see if I could recreate an image such as the iPhone wallpaper (and potentially do it better) by capturing the vivid colors of bubbles and I ended up spending quite some time trying to figure out the most optimal and economical way to illuminate and photograph a bubble. To light a bubble properly for the purpose of photographing, a large and broad light sourc...

In the previous post, while mentioning bubbles are typically spherical in shape, I alluded to the large array of  shape possibilities that clustering bubbles can take on. In this post, I will be demonstrating two ways to produce a particular shape -  a mythical six-sided bubble.  Method 1: Bubble Frame  This method requires a truckload of bubble solution, so be warned!  1. Construct a cube frame out of straws. I cut six straws into halves, and then hot glued them at the corners to form a cube. 2. Dip the cube in bubble solution, then carefully pull it out. The frame should now have a formation that looks like this: Note the square in the center; this is critical to the proper growth of our cubular friend. 3. Using a bubble wand, blow a bubble and then drop it into the center of the cube. At this point, the cubic bubble is formed after the just blown bubble settles in the center. 4. (optional) The size of the cubic bubble ...

Bubbles have entertained and fascinated children and adults alike for eternities;  t hey evoke carefree childhood memories and bring on pure nostalgia . The elegance and whimsicalness of a delicate bubble levitating and jetting around on a current of air is a sight to behold. Yet the simple, timeless appearance belies the fact that they encapsulate fundamental scientific concepts such as elasticity, surface tension, chemistry, light, and even geometry. For these reasons, I will be studying bubbles for my ISP. In this first blog post, I will be providing some prerequisite information about bubbles to lay the groundwork for my future posts.  Bubble Composition : A bubble is a thin layer of water enclosed by two layers of soap. This layer is then stretched out to form a sphere after  air is blown into it. Soap is a critical ingredient to bubbles since without the soap, the bubble would not form, as the surface tension (see below) would be too strong an...