Science Behind Bubbles Essay

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The Science Behind Bubbles Bubbles are fascinating. They are used by children around the world as a source of entertainment. But, there’s more to them than meets the eye. The science around bubbles deals with chemical bonds, surface tension, air density, and more. The anatomy of a bubble seems simple, but it is actually very complicated. Bubbles are usually looked at as something very simple, but scientists think otherwise. Standard bubbles that you can make at home consist of soapy detergent and water. The bubbles made with this have a very thin film that are extremely sensitive to the touch. A bubble can contain all sorts of gases, but in this case, it’s human breath. A bubble can keep its form because the soap molecules trap the water…show more content…
This question can be answered with the term “surface tension”. Surface tension is water molecules’ attraction to other water molecules causing the outer surface of a body of water to have a mildly elastic film over it. The type of surface tension connection made with hydrogen and oxygen molecules are called hydrogen bonds. A simple bubble mixture must contain these elements because hydrogen is electrostatic and the other elements are electronegative. Naturally, opposites attract, so the water molecules form together to make surface tension. Bodies of water unaffected by gravity will always form a sphere because the water molecules inside try to minimize their surface area, and a sphere is the most energy efficient shape. Because bubbles almost always have water in their chemical composition, a bubble will always take the shape of a…show more content…
It does this because glycerin forms weak hydrogen bonds with water. What this does is slow down the evaporation process of the water inside the bubble. When the water inside evaporates it pops because there’s nothing to hold the bubble together. However, this does not enhance the bubble’s robustness against dry objects because it still has molecules that are not attracted to elements other than hydrogen and oxygen. Glycerin is, in a way, a shield to protect water molecules from breaking through to the surface and breaking the
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