Here’s one for the Guinness Book of Records — researchers from the University of Lille created the world’s longest-lasting bubble, which kept its shape for 465 days.
This is a whopping 20,00 times longer than regular soap bubbles, which typically last for a only a matter of minutes — if even that — before they pop.
Their secret is in the creation of a unique type of bubble, called a “gas marble”, which features a layer structure and plastic beads on its surface. This makes it extremely strong.
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Here’s one for the Guinness Book of Records — researchers from the University of Lille created the world’s longest-lasting bubble (pictured) which kept its shape for 465 days
Aymeric Roux, a French physicist, and colleagues from the University of Lille conducted the study.
The team stated that soap bubbles were “by essence fragile and ephemeral,” in the paper.
“Depending on the bubble’s composition, environment and other factors, bubble burst can be caused by gravity-induced drainage or the evaporation and/or presence of nuclei.
“They may also shrink as a result of Laplace overpressure induced diffusion of inner gas into the external atmosphere,” they said.
“We created bubbles from a liquid composite film that could neutralise these effects while maintaining their integrity for over a year in standard atmospheric conditions.”
Gas marbles can be described as a rare type of bubble created from liquid that has tiny beads.
They pack together in the bubble’s shell making it sturdy enough to be held or rolled on a flat surface without it breaking.
Although previous research focused on mechanical properties of the gas marbles, Mr Roux’s study with colleagues is the first one to examine their lifetimes.
In their experiments to find the longest-lasting bubble, the team compared three different types — regular soap bubbles, water-based gas marbles and those made of a combination of both water and glycerol.
The researchers made the gas marbles by spreading plastic particles over the surface of a water or water–glycerol bath to form a so-called ‘granular raft’.
To create a bubble they then injected air beneath the raft. They finally wrapped the particle raft around to gather enough beads to cover the marble’s surfaces.
Each bubble was formed by the team. Then, they placed each one on top of an electronic weighing scale. They then filmed how long each creation lasted with a camera.
The researchers made the gas marbles by spreading plastic particles over the surface of a water or water–glycerol bath to form a so-called ‘granular raft’. The researchers then injected air under the raft to create a bubble. Finally, they rolled the particle raft around (as shown) to collect enough plastic beads to cover the marble’s surface.
While previous research had explored the mechanical properties of gas marbles, the study by Mr Roux and colleagues is the first to explore their potential lifetimes. Pictured: a water-based gas marbles collapsing after 42 minutes (left) vs a water–glycerol marble, which could have lasted for months, being punctured prematurely with a needle
The soap bubbles burst after a few minutes, as anyone who ever used bubble mix to do dishes will know.
The water-based gas marbles, meanwhile, fared better — lasting anywhere between 6 minutes to a full hour before they burst apart.
However, with a high-enough concentration of glycerol in their initial mixture, the water–glycerol marbles were able to last significantly longer — with one even enduring for a whopping 465 days after it was formed.
The soap bubbles, far left, popped within a matter of minutes. Anyone who’s ever used bubble mix in cooking will know this. The gas marbles, meanwhile, fared better — with the water based ones (left, in blue) lasting anywhere between 6 minutes to a full hour before they burst apart, while the water–glycerol marbles lasted for months (middle and right), with one surviving for 465 days
According to the researchers, the glycerol is key to the increased longevity of the gas marbles — with the simple polyol compound having a stabilising effect thanks to its strong affinity with water.
This property also allows the bubble to absorb water from the atmosphere, which the team believes helps compensate for the evaporation, which can be one of the main triggers that lead to regular bubbles’ demise.
In the meantime, they explained, plastic particles also help stop water from draining from marble’s shell. This phenomenon can lead to marble bursting.
All findings were published in Physical Review Fluids.
Why SOAP BUBBLES JOIN UP
Three joined bubbles
If two bubbles collide, their volumes are shared to make a single bubble.
Both will work together to make the largest surface possible.
Two bubbles merged into one do not always become an enclosed sphere.
They stick together, and adapt their forms to maximize strength.