Hobbies And Interests
Surface Tension
When accounting for bubble behavior, one of the key ingredients that must be understood is the aspect of surface tension. Surface tension can be seen nearly anywhere. Some insects have even evolved to utilize surface tension, allowing them to literally walk on water. This tension causes the part of water exposed to air to become stronger and more tightly bound than the interior water molecules. This occurs because water molecules on the surface have fewer molecules to bond with, causing them to become more tightly bound with the water below them.
Soap
Bubbles usually form when something in addition to water, most often soap, is added. Soap bubbles last for a long time because the soap prevents the rapid degradation of the bubble. These soap bubbles form a long chain of hydrogen and carbon atoms. Hydrophobic ends that repel water and hydrophilic ends that are attracted to water help to stabilize the bubble.
Bubbles Without Gravity
Although not easy to test, bubbles have been tested in zero gravity with the help of astronaut Don Pettit. On Earth, surface tension competes to keep the bubble alive and well while gravity tries to destroy it. In space, the gravity no longer pulls at the bubble, allowing surface tension to take over. The result is a membrane, because the actual bubble doesn't form. These membranes can be very large and long-lasting, as no gravity acts upon them.
Colorful Bubbles
Pettit went one step farther with his space bubbles; he also added droplets of food color to the bubble membrane. Normally, food color would be subjected to gravitational forces; however, when he added it to the membrane in zero gravity, it flowed around the bubble membrane, which acted like an art canvas.