© L. Salkin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. (2016). Institut de Physique de Rennes (CNRS/Université Rennes 1). (a) Typical progression in the cavity created in a film when the gas flow rate Vg increases and is below the minimum value for creating bubbles Vc. (b) Bubbles form when Vg is greater than Vc.
Some phenomena that appear to be well understood are much more mysterious than it seems. In spite of the numerous applications that rely on the presence or absence of bubbles, no advanced scientific studies had been carried out so far into how bubbles form. A team of researchers in the Matière Molle Department at the Institut de Physique de Rennes (CNRS/Université Rennes 1) tackled this question and developed a self-sustaining bubble machine in the laboratory. The researchers have managed to determine the minimum speed at which air must be blown on a soap film to form bubbles, under various experimental conditions. This work, which would allow optimization of various industrial processes, was published on February 19, 2016 in Physical Review Letters . Many natural phenomena and industrial processes, such as foam production, require the formation of thin liquid films, while others require the opposite: preventing bubbles from forming. The latter include glass making and depositing liquid coatings onto plates or fibers.
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