Soap Bubbles; whats the best recipe ?
Simon Chandler
Some years ago I read an article, in Scientific American I think, that
described how to make VERY long lived soap bubbles. A recipe was
given for the best soap + water + other chemicals mixture to use.
If you have a reference to that article, or have some other info that
would help, could you please e-mail me (I rarely get time to read the
sci.* group).
Thanks,
Simon
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Dr Simon Chandler
Hewlett-Packard Ltd Tel: 0272 228109
Computer Peripherals Bristol Fax: 0272 236091
Filton Road, Stoke Gifford
Bristol, BS12 6QZ email: sim...@bri.hp.com
United Kingdom
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Simon Chandler
[ Author was Simon Chandler ]
[ Posted on Fri, 28 Oct 1994 11:39:51 GMT ]
Karl Hahn
> Hello all,
>
> Some years ago I read an article, in Scientific American I think, that
> described how to make VERY long lived soap bubbles. A recipe was
> given for the best soap + water + other chemicals mixture to use.
>
> If you have a reference to that article, or have some other info that
> would help, could you please e-mail me (I rarely get time to read the
> sci.* group).
>
The Exploratorium in San Francisco recommends using dishwashing detergent
(I think they recommend Dawn and Joy brands), distilled water, and a bit
of glycerol. I don't have the exact recipe with me, but I'll try to
get it for Monday.
--
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| (^ (`> | Man gotta sit and wonder why, why, why.
| ((\\__/ ) | Tiger gotta sleep. Bird gotta land.
| (\\< ) der Nethahn | Man gotta tell himself he understand."
| \< ) |
| ( / | Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
| | |
| ^ ha...@lds.loral.com my opinions need not be Loral's
Edward William Matthews
water works very well. You may try less water, which is there only to
dilute the others.
These last fairly long, but may not be exactly what you're looking for.
Ed Matthews
Moderator
In a previous article, ha...@newshost.lds.loral.com (Karl Hahn) says:
>In article <CyDsE...@bri.hp.com> sim...@bri.hp.com (Simon Chandler) writes:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> Some years ago I read an article, in Scientific American I think, that
>> described how to make VERY long lived soap bubbles. A recipe was
>> given for the best soap + water + other chemicals mixture to use.
>>
>> If you have a reference to that article, or have some other info that
>> would help, could you please e-mail me (I rarely get time to read the
>> sci.* group).
>>
>
>The Exploratorium in San Francisco recommends using dishwashing detergent
>(I think they recommend Dawn and Joy brands), distilled water, and a bit
>of glycerol. I don't have the exact recipe with me, but I'll try to
>get it for Monday.
>
The recipe for soap bubbles depends upon what you need the soap bubbles
for. I use Dawn dishwashing detergent. However, my students have tried
several combinations of this detergent with Karo corn syrup or a small
amount of glycerin. Try different combinations. By the way, the longer
you store your soap bubble mixture, the better its performance.
HTH
Z.M. Evensen
Allan Adler
There is a wonderful book by C.V.Boys on soap bubbles, published by
Dover. It mentions among other things how to make soap bubbles that
last for 20 years.
Allan Adler
a...@altdorf.ai.mit.edu
Iain L J Patterson
> Some years ago I read an article, in Scientific American I think, that
> described how to make VERY long lived soap bubbles. A recipe was
> given for the best soap + water + other chemicals mixture to use.
Not exactly what he's looking for, but slightly relevant ...
(OK OK so a lot of you will be familiar with these "old faithfuls",
but I know a lot of other people will never have seen them)
A demonstration which is always popular and (as usual) very messy, yet
still has some educational potential is:
Half fill a 5-10 litre plastic bucket with hot tap water. Stir in some foamy
surfactant (I use Teepol; washing-up liquid is equally good). The bucket
should be placed on the edge of a BIG sink within a draining area. Ensure
adequate ventilation, then pour in 50-100ml or so of liquid nitrogen.
Excellent fun. The mixture froths over the top of the bucket. The size of the
bubbles produced gradually increases as the action slows down. Eventually the
top half of the bucket becomes filled with frozen bubbles while the lower half
is still clearly hot to the touch. Bubbles in the foam burst releasing puffs of
dense cloud.
Educational values?
The obvious one is the volume a gas occupies compared to its condensed
phase(s). You could bring in heat capacity, surface tension and cloud
formation too. :-)
The less educational version omits the surfactant, doubles the amount of
nitrogen and places the bucket on a bench. No messy foam, but lots of genuine
clouds indoors. The cloud is white, dense and rolls over the top of the bucket,
creeps along the bench and falls onto the floor. The water stays hot for quite
some time. Undergrads love it, and it's a safe way to dispose of liquid
nitrogen residues after a day on the vacuum lines (well that's my excuse and
I'm sticking to it). Again, ensure the space/ventilation can cope with sudden
(fairly) large releases of asphyxiant gas).
Cheers,
Iain.
Colin Douthwaite
: There is a wonderful book by C.V.Boys on soap bubbles, published by
: Dover. It mentions among other things how to make soap bubbles that
: last for 20 years.
---------------- Previous Postings on Bubble Mixtures ---------------
Newsgroups: sci.materials
Subject: Re: recipe for soap bubbles wanted
From: jor...@inland.com
Date: 30 Jun 93 07:20:41 CST
Organization: Inland Steel Company; East Chicago, IN
Lines: 20
In article <93181.123...@ESRIN.BITNET>,
<ACI...@ESRIN.BITNET> writes:
> Does anybody have a recipe for soap bubbles which does not require
> difficult to find components? Thanks in advance.
> A. Ciarlo (ACI...@ESRIN.BITNET)
This is the recipe my wife uses to make soap bubbles for the kids to
blow around outside and in the bathtub. When it is fresh, the
solution can make some pretty large bubbles. After it has aged a
while (usually, the kids forget to close the container) it seems to
be slightly less effective.
I hope it works for you.
1 cup liquid dishwashing detergent (Joy or Dawn works for us)
2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons glycerin (available at most pharmacies)
one half teaspoon sugar
mix
store in airtight container.
Don Jordan
JOR...@INLAND.COM
Newsgroups: sci.materials
Subject: Re: recipe wanted for soap bubbles
From: jmic...@vnet.IBM.COM
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 93 10:05:01 EDT
Lines: 4
3 parts water to 1 part Ivory dish soap. Makes giant bubbles.
Have fun.
Newsgroups: sci.materials
Subject: Re: recipe wanted for soap bubbles
From: s...@redbeard.physics.fsu.edu (Scott D. Berry)
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1993 18:05:16 GMT
Organization: Florida State University
Lines: 14
In article <19930630....@almaden.ibm.com>
jmic...@vnet.IBM.COM writes:
>3 parts water to 1 part Ivory dish soap. Makes giant bubbles.
>Have fun.
My giant bubble blowing apparatus book says:
1 cup Dawn/Joy
10 cups water
(optional/useful) 3-5 tablespoons glycerine
It works great in summer Florida humidity even without the glycerine
Scott D. Berry Assistant Professor of Physics Florida State
University
315 Keen Bldg, B-159, Tallahassee, FL 32306-3016 (904) 644-1218
INTERNET: be...@redbeard.physics.fsu.edu BITNET: berry@fsu
--------------------------------------------------------------------
hyuk k. pak
>
>Some years ago I read an article, in Scientific American I think, that
>described how to make VERY long lived soap bubbles. A recipe was
>given for the best soap + water + other chemicals mixture to use.
>
>If you have a reference to that article, or have some other info that
>would help, could you please e-mail me (I rarely get time to read the
>sci.* group).
>
>Thanks,
>
>Simon
A. A. Sonin at Advances in Colloid and Interface Sciences, [51],1-27(1994).
I guess this paper has everthing you need to know about soap films.
Hyuk K. Pak