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Questions tagged [bubbles]

A coherent region of fluid embedded in a fluid with different properties (air in water) or a coherent region of fluid surrounded by a membrane embedded in a fluid which may or may not be different (such as air in a soap membrane).

A coherent region of fluid embedded in a fluid with different properties (air in water) or a coherent region of fluid surrounded by a membrane embedded in a fluid which may or may not be different (such as air in a soap membrane).

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Surviving under water in air bubble

An incredible news story today is about a man who survived for two days at the bottom of the sea (~30 m deep) in a capsized boat, in an air bubble that formed in a corner of the boat. He was eventually rescued by divers who came to retrieve dead…
Maxim Umansky
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Explaining to a five year old - why don't bubbles run like water

My five-year old daughter was asking about astronauts the other day and why they float in space. After me showing her a few bits on the kids section on the NASA web site I started explaining about the planets and how the sun was a ball of gas and…
GrandMasterFlush
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Do bubbles get created when you move something in water?

I've seen in a lot of movies and animations of bubbles forming when something moves underwater (e.g., fish swimming). Is it theoretically possible (under any temperature, pressure circumstance possible in oceans) that bubbles could form miles…
alienare 4422
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Are bubbles in ice at a lower or higher pressure than atmospheric pressure?

When water phase-transitions into ice it expands. The water usually contains dissolved air. Freezing forces the air out of the solution into bubbles. Are these bubbles at a lower or higher pressure than atmospheric pressure? I can see arguments…
mankoff
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Frost bubble formation

I woke up recently to find the following structures on my lawn; they resemble bubbles, but are formed from ice (we had a moderate frost overnight). There were eight of these 'bubbles' on my lawn and one smashed one on the adjacent path. They were…
Baldrickk
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How long would a bubble made in the ISS last?

It seems to me that if on Earth soap bubbles pop, it is because the gravity makes the water and soap go to the bottom of it. When there is not enough water at the top of the bubble, it pops. But what if we remove gravity and make a bubble in the…
EngelOfChipolata
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How does rubbing soap on wet skin produce foam, and does it really enhance cleaning?

We tend to rub soap after applying it to the skin. I found it interesting that the mere act of sliding our hands on the wet skin surface produces millions of air bubbles in the liquid, that later becomes foam. I wonder how exactly we manage to do…
AlphaLife
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Why do bubbles make a sound?

I have an understanding of how bubbles work. They encapsulate air (or other fluids) in a membrane caused by surface tension. When they pop, there is often a sound. Sound is a type of energy, kinetic to be precise, that usually occurs from…
Thoth19
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What are the equations of motion of a hole in a soap bubble?

Imagine the following situation: I have a thin stationary water film, like a soap bubble, suspended inside a large ring. I throw a small loop of string onto the film and punch a hole inside it. How can I describe the motion of the hole in the water…
UwF
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Why are we able to see air bubbles under water?

Title is self explanatory. I'm assuming both water and air are transparent. So, if they are true, how can I clearly distinguish an air bubble under water?
ihavenoidea
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Why are bubbles formed sometimes when pouring water?

Sometimes when I fill up a container with water from the tap, bubbles form on top of the water. They look a little like soapsuds, but there's no soapsuds present. I notice, sometimes this happens more than others. Why does water sometimes form…
user110352
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In beer, why do bubbles travel faster upwards in the center?

This is a very odd question, but I just so happened to be observing a pint of beer and realized that the bubbles floating up seemed to travel faster towards the center of the glass than towards the edges of the glass. My first assumption was that…
Corey Mitchell
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Why are coke bottles that much fizzier if you shake them?

We've all been there: you drop your bottle of soda at some point and when you try to open it, it bursts into foam. My question is, then: why does shaking a carbonated drink make the dissolved gas escape?
Emilio Pisanty
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What is the real cause of the boiling (forming of bubbles) of water?

I've got a question about the boiling of water. I'm a first year physics student and from the Netherlands. I've searched alot about the boiling of water and this confused me. Everyone said something else about the cause of the boiling. Let me…
Anton Geesink
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Would a perfectly clean and perfectly smooth champagne glass have no bubbles?

My understanding is that nucleation sites for bubbles in a champagne glass are either due to defects in the glass or due to fibers in the glass (see this article for details on that statement). Does this imply that champagne poured into an…
Edward
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