Soap bubbles recipe for the liquid and other interesting facts.
I believe that each of us, at some stage of our lives, has blown soap bubbles. Typically, it’s children who do it most often, or adults thinking of children.
So far, I haven’t been bothered by the question of what physics allows for the creation of such strange forms and shapes solely from water and a bit of soap. As soap bubbles don’t have to be spheres at all. However, after visiting the Technorama Science Center, where you can create huge, soapy wonders at special stations, I decided to investigate the phenomenon of soap bubble magic.
What do scientists think soap bubbles are
A soap bubble forms from the combination of soap and water. The role of soap can be taken over by any detergent, whose task is to reduce the surface tension of water. Of course, softening the water alone is not enough; it is also necessary to enclose it between extremely thin layers of this soap.
More figuratively, a bubble consists of three layers. The outermost layer is soap, the middle one is pure water, and the innermost layer is soap again. The water trapped between the layers of detergent has a thickness of only a few micrometers (one micrometer is one thousandth of a millimetre).
Such a created three-layer membrane, in skilful hands, can reach enormous sizes and take on almost any shape.
Another feature that delights when watching bubbles forming is their colours. Beautiful rainbow hues wave and blend with each other at the slightest movement of the air. This event also has its place in physics. The phenomenon responsible for the colours on the surface of bubbles is called iridescence.
Iridescence is an optical phenomenon that involves the formation of rainbow colours when white light penetrates and reflects from transparent or semi-transparent materials with different optical properties. In the case of soap bubbles, the alternating layers of soap and water fulfil this role.
Soap bubbles in children’s eyes
According to children, soap bubbles are pure magic, and the creator of bubbles can be no one else but a wizard. It’s not surprising that even in the Middle Ages, soap bubbles were associated with spells and magic. When magicians and jugglers entertained the audience by conjuring colourful spheres out of ordinary water, people reacted with both delight and fear.
At some point, one of the popes expressed his concern about the creators of soap bubbles, as they were accustomed to associating magic with play, thus familiarizing the ignorant masses with it.
Soap bubbles and their history
The history of soap bubbles probably begins in the place where soap itself appeared. The Babylonians or Phoenicians are considered the creators of soap. You can learn more about the history of soap and dirt from our previous article, where we describe a visit to the Museum of Soap and Dirt in Bydgoszcz (Poland).
Legend has it that soap was discovered by women who were washing clothes in a river. At the same time, men on a nearby hill were sacrificing animals to the gods. The hot fat, along with the ashes, flowed down into the river and accidentally ended up where the dirty clothes were soaking.
The washerwomen were amazed to find that the fat, when combined with the ashes, lathered and helped to remove dirt from the clothes. It is likely that from all this joy, they also started blowing bubbles, and that’s how it all began.
As for what actually happened, I don’t know, but it is a fact that in the ancient world, blowing bubbles became a very popular activity during all kinds of festivals and events. Similarly, in ancient Asia, creating soap bubbles became a true art form.
Blowing bubbles has survived through all epochs and still entertains us today. However, nowadays, thanks to science, we know much more about this phenomenon and can create not only small colourful bubbles but also huge and very durable soapy structures.
Recipe for soap bubble liquid
Making bubble solution is basic. Basically, all you need is a bit of soap or dishwashing liquid, and you’re ready to go. Of course, bubbles made this way will be small and very fragile.
To enjoy huge and sunburst bubbles, you need to put in a bit more effort. You can simply go to the store and buy a ready-made solution, which works great, but where’s the fun in that?
What will you need to make liquid for large and non-breaking soap bubbles?
Below, I will list the ingredients you will have to make the correct liquid that will make you a hero to all the local kids.
- Water: To ensure durable bubbles, you should use distilled water instead of tap water. Tap water is hard and contains impurities and minerals that won’t allow the bubbles to be too strong and impressive.
- Dishwashing liquid: It should be thick and as simple as possible. It shouldn’t contain any balms or antibacterial ingredients. They might work well for washing dishes, but they would be detrimental to our bubbles.
- Liquid glycerin: You can easily buy it at a drug store or pharmacy. It’s cheap and lasts a long time. If you don’t feel like running around town looking for this ingredient, you can use sugar, although it has a much weaker effect.
- Baking powder: This is a pretty important ingredient because it changes the pH of the solution to alkaline. This makes the bubbles more durable.
Okay, now you know what you’ll need. Now it’s time for proportions.
- Distilled water; 2 litres,
- Dishwashing liquid; 200 millilitres (1 cup),
- Glycerin; 30 millilitres (2 tablespoons),
- Baking powder; 15 grams (1 tablespoon).
Making liquid for soap bubbles
If you have gathered all the necessary ingredients, it’s time to combine them. It’s not a complicated task, rather simple. However, you must remember to mix everything very gently and thoroughly. It’s significant that no bubbles form on the surface of the liquid during mixing.
Most importantly, the prepared solution must rest. It’s best to leave it in a dark place for a full day.
If you don’t use all of it during playtime, you can store the remaining solution in a sealed container for later use.
Of course, the solution alone is not enough to create large and strong bubbles. You will also need a wand, or rather, two sticks and a string. The string should be about 180 centimetres long and made of cotton. Make a loop out of it and fasten its edges to two sticks, creating something like a long-handled jump rope with two strings.
In fact, the length of the strings and sticks can be arbitrary, depending on your comfort in using them. You can also make any changes, creating variations as depicted in the above drawing, limited only by your imagination.
Soap bubbles information and interesting facts
- Natural soap bubbles always take the form of a perfect sphere because it is the sphere that has the smallest surface area for the greatest volume, and as we know, nature is very economical and strives for perfection.
- With special equipment, soap bubbles can be created in various shapes. They can also take the form of a flat surface.
- No matter how perfect the bubble solution we create for blowing bubbles, eventually, every bubble will burst. This happens because surface tension, neutralized by various substances added to the water, is a force that eventually always prevails. Once a certain value is exceeded, the soap bubble simply ceases to exist.
- Rain bowing is another name for the phenomenon called iridescence. When light reflects off several transparent surfaces, it behaves as if it had passed through a prism. And although we see fantastic colours on the surface of bubbles, in reality, it is completely transparent.
- Well-made bubble solutions can provide such durability that bubbles can land on, for example, the hand without bursting.
- Bubble masters can enclose one bubble inside another.
- In China, bubble blowing has been an art form since ancient times. In shows, which are very popular, masters enclose people, animals, and even cars in bubbles.
- It’s never possible to make two bubbles with the same arrangement of colours. This is partially reminiscent of our unique fingerprints.
- Soap bubbles help scientists understand the laws of physics and chemistry related to them, but their main purpose is still simple entertainment.
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