Literature Review

Well, it's been a while but I figured that I should keep you updated since this is about science fair and thus I am continuing this though in a different location. So I have decided on the question- Does the life span of a soap bubble increase or decrease in hot humid weather or in cold clear weather. Here is my literature Review-

Question and Hypothesis

Question

Does the life span of a soap bubble increase in cold clear weather or hot humid weather?

Hypothesis

My hypothesis is that the life span of the soap bubble will increase in cold clear weather.

Review of Literature

Bubbles have been around since the early 18^th century and have continually developed ever since. Though bubbles range from different colors and sizes there are some things they have in common. For example, one thing all bubbles have in common are their shape, no matter how hard you try, you’ll always end up with a sphere shaped bubble. Different kinds of bubbles vary as well. There are gas bubbles, air bubbles, soap bubble…etc.

Soap bubbles are formed when soap and water are mixed; they become known as low-free-energy. There are two end of a soap molecule, the hydrophilic, which is attracted to water, and the hydrophobic hydrocarbon which tries to avoid water. When soap and water mingle the hydrophobic hydrocarbon forces its way to the top and spreads the water molecules. As the water molecules begin to separate the surface tension also decreases, thus, forming a soap bubble.  A soap bubble is a three layered film encasing a slight sphere of compressed air or gasses. The three layered film which involves a layer of water sandwiched by soapy films. These soapy film are, in comparison, much like a plastic film, able to hold what is on the inside, but once the center is gone, it folds in on itself.

All bubbles, soap or gas, form into a sphere. A sphere, unlike any of the other three dimensional shapes takes the absolute least amount of energy to form into. A sphere also enables the least amount of surface tension giving the bubble a longer life period. No matter how you blow a bubble, it will always form into a sphere.

Once a soap bubble is air born it has a short period of time before it evaporates or bumps into something and pops. To keep the bubbles alive longer add glycerol. Glycerol is found at your local drug store to enable the slowing of the water film thinning and helps slow down the process of evaporation. Like glycerol, polymer also helps slow down evaporation enabling a bubble to live longer. The recommended soap bubble solution, for a longer life span, is: 19 ml of soap in 750 ml of water and 1000 ml of glycerol.

The soap bubble solution is not the only contribution to a longer life span of the bubble but also the atmospheric pressure, temperature, chemical composition and how hard or soft the surface tension is. Henry’s law- The less atmospheric pressure, the less gas in the solution, along with Bernoulli’s principle: Pressure affects the long live of bubbles, both support this composition.

In warmer, humid air, a bubble is most likely to pop sooner than a bubble floating in cold, clear air. Bubbles pop for one of two reasons- The water evaporates or the bubble bumps into something and the pressure is too great. In warmer times, when the sun is out, the bubble will likely pop from the evaporation of the sun. The humidity would create a barometric pressure that would close in on the bubble and once overwhelmed the bubble would merely pop. In contradiction a bubble airborne on a cold day, when the sun is not as effective a bubble would most likely not pop, and since the air is clear there is no atmospheric pressure so the bubble is free to float in a vast area.

Today, bubbles are admired not only by adults and children but pets as well! Doing some experiments, companies were eventually able to create scent flavored bubbles. Now bubbles range from a smell of happy bubbles, bacon or even cat-nip! Giving pleasure to the whole family. Though it may surprise, bubbles are not only used for fun but also to help solve mathematical equations and help scientist get a better grasp on the universe.

Bibliography

Calvert, J.B. Bubbles and Soap. N.p., 20 Mar 2004. Web. 19 Oct 2013. <http://mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/phys/bubbles.htm>.

Helminstine, Anne. "About.com." Bubble Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct 2013. <http://chemistry.about.com/od/bubbles/a/bubblescience.htm>.

"Science Daily." Soap Bubbles. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct 2013. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/s/soap_bubble.htm>.

http://curry.eas.gatech.edu/Courses/6140/ency/Chapter5/Ency_Oceans/bubbles.pdf

Smith, Lisa. "Ehow." The Effect of Temperature on Bubble Solution. N.p.. Web. 19 Oct 2013. <http://www.ehow.com/info_8744446_effect-temperature-bubble-solution.html>.

Pepling, Rachel. "Chemical & Engineering News." Soap Bubbles. N.p., 28 Apr 2003. Web. 19 Oct 2013. <https://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8117sci3.html>.