Bubbles
Making
Bubble Mix
While many people make bubbles out of any old detergent and
water, you can get the biggest, longest lasting bubbles if you
use liquid detergent and syrup. Use a mixture of Dawn (or Joy)
and Karo Light Syrup. With this mixture for every 1/2 cup of
liquid detergent, add about 1 tablespoon of Karo Syrup. However,
the mixture can be varied a lot without affecting the bubble
much.
When mixing up a batch of bubble mix you should realize that
there are several sure fire bubble busters - dirt and other bubbles.
You should try to make sure that the containers you are using
are very clean and that you don't stir too much or too quickly,
keeping the bubbles down.
Bubbles also tend to like cold air, but sometimes there is
not much you can do about the temperature!
Monster
Bubbles
6 cups water (Distilled is best)
3/4 cup corn syrup (Karo Light)
2 cups Joy (or Dawn) dish washing liquid
Mix together. Let set 4 hours (to let bubble settle), then
enjoy.
Any solution you make at home is 10 times as potent as the
store-bought stuff. Vendors water it down so you always have
to buy more. Here are two recipes:
12 Cups of water
1 cup Dish Soap (Buy a brand name hand dish washing soap, not
dishwasher soap.)
3 tablespoons of glycerin (in lotion aisle of drug stores)
If you want to make a MUCH larger batch:
4 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket
6 cups of dish soap (Buy a brand name hand dish washing soap,
not dishwasher soap.)
1 cup of glycerin
You can store this liquid forever and it will still work.
Make a lot if you can and store it in sealable containers!
Creating
Big Bubbles
To make really big bubbles, and the rest of the activities
on this page, you will need about a cup of bubble mix, an assortment
of plastic lids of different sizes, several straws, a cup of
water and a large plastic plate or other container to catch any
overflow bubble mix.
To make big bubbles that last, you need to have something
to keep them on. You need to make and use a bubble stand. To
make a bubble stand, use a large plastic plate to catch any bubble
mix you will spill, and then put the top of a large butter lid
(any other plastic lid with a lip on it will work) in the center
of the plate. Always check to make sure that the lid is smooth
and does not have any sharp defects.
The next step is to put bubble mix into the butter lid until
the mix comes just up to the edge.
Once the bubble mix covers the edge of the lid, dip the straw
in the cup of bubble mix to get the end of the straw wet. Next
place one end of the straw into the bubble mix in the butter
lid. Keeping the straw in the mixture, slowly blow into the straw.
Once a bubble starts to form, you have to position the end
of the straw so that you can keep blowing air into the bubble,
and you can keep the wet part of the straw in contact with the
surface of the bubble. With practice this will become relatively
easy, and you will be able to blow some pretty big bubbles which
will sit on the edge of the butter lid.
Bubble
Within a Bubble
For this trick find a plastic lid that is considerably smaller
than the butter lid you are using.
Put this second plastic lid in the center of the butter lid
and fill it with bubble mix so that the edges are covered with
the mix.
Next blow a big bubble on the butter lid as described in the
tough bubble.
Once you have done this, make sure your straw is wet. Next,
push the straw through the bubble and into the bubble mix in
the smaller lid.
Carefully blow a small bubble in this lid. Then remove the
straw.
If you are really careful and have the right assortment of
lids you could blow a bubble in a bubble in a bubble.
The
Physics of Bubbles
Have you ever noticed that when you run water from the tap
into a sink that some bubbles are formed?
These water bubbles don't last very long because the forces
between water molecules tears these bubbles apart. But there
is a way to reduce these forces and form bubbles - of course
that means using soap.
Liquid detergents are especially good at reducing the forces
between water molecules and letting bubbles form. In fact detergent
molecules will cover the surface of a bubble and let it expand
a great deal without breaking. A soap bubble actually is a sandwich
of air on the inside, a layer of detergent molecules, a layer
of water and finally another layer of detergent molecules. The
inner and outer layers of detergent can stretch a great deal
and the water helps hold the bubble together.
Have you ever looked very carefully at a bubble as it floats
along and then pops?
Sometimes you can see reflections in a bubble, and if you
look carefully you will see lots of colors swirling around on
the surface of the bubble. Just before the bubble bursts some
part of the bubble will look like it has lots of black swirls
on it. There is a lot going on within a bubble and if you watch
them carefully you will begin to understand how they are formed
and how they break.
These colors and the reflection is because light is bouncing
off both the inside and outside surface of the bubble. When this
happens light waves from the inner and outer surfaces interfere
with each other and produce brightly colored patterns. By doing
the light and optics activities you can learn more about light
waves and the interference of waves. Since sunlight contains
a wide range of colors. Each color has a unique wavelength. You
see a particular color when the surface of the bubble is just
the right thickness (one quarter wavelength thick) to cause constructive
interference for a a particular color. But when the surface of
the bubble gets very thin the light destructively interferes
and you see mostly black.
Bubble Links
AntiBubbles
Skins of air which float around underwater, and vanish when touched.
Bubble
Bomb
Using baking soda and vinegar in a zippered sandwich bag, you
can make a surprisingly loud pop. Why?
Bubblesphere
Frequently asked questions about bubbles. How to make
your own giant bubbles.
Hints,
Tips and Clues for Blowing Bigger Better Bubbles!
Trying to set a record? Here's how!
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