Soap bubbles

There are a number of relatively simple experiments with soap films that illustrate beautifully some of the implications of the Young-Laplace equation. Two of these have already been mentioned. Neglecting gravitational effects, a film stretched across a frame as in Fig. II-1 will be planar because the pressure is the same as both sides of the film. The experiment depicted in Fig. II-2 illustrates the relation between the pressure inside a spherical soap bubble and its radius of curvature by attaching a manometer, AP could be measured directly. 

C. V. Boys, Soap Bubbles and the Forces that Mould Them, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, 1890 reprint ed.. Doubleday Anchor Books, Science Study Series S3, Doubleday, Garden City, NY, 1959. 

Bianco and Marmur [143] have developed a means to measure the surface elasticity of soap bubbles. Their results are well modeled by the von Szyszkowski equation (Eq. III-57) and Eq. Ill-118. They find that the elasticity increases with the size of the bubble for small bubbles but that it may go through a maximum for larger bubbles. Li and Neumann [144] have shown the effects of surface elasticity on wetting and capillary rise phenomena, with important implications for measurement of surface tension. 

Consider the case of two soap bubbles having a common septum. The bubbles have radii of curvature Ri and R2, and the radius of curvature of the common septum is R. Show under what conditions R would be zero and under what conditions it would be equal to R2. 

C. Isenberg, The Science of Soap Films and Soap Bubbles, Dover PubUcations, New York, 1992. 

S has been approximated for flames stabili2ed by a steady uniform flow of unbumed gas from porous metal diaphragms or other flow straighteners. However, in practice, S is usually determined less directly from the speed and area of transient flames in tubes, closed vessels, soap bubbles blown with the mixture, and, most commonly, from the shape of steady Bunsen burner flames. The observed speed of a transient flame usually differs markedly from S. For example, it can be calculated that a flame spreads from a central ignition point in an unconfined explosive mixture such as a soap bubble at a speed of (p /in which the density ratio across the flame is typically 5—10. Usually, the expansion of the burning gas imparts a considerable velocity to the unbumed mixture, and the observed speed will be the sum of this velocity and S. ... 

Fig. 2.6. (a) The surface energy of a "two-dimensional" array of soap bubbles is minimised if the soap films straighten out. Where films meet the forces of surface tension must balance. This can only happen if films meet in "120" three-somes". 

Immediately after the running test, any compressor intended for toxic, hazardous, flammable, or hydrogen-rich service should be gas tested with an inert gas to the maximum seal design pressure. The test is held at least 30 minutes and the casing and its joints checked for leaks, using a soap bubble method or other suitable means for leak detection. When no leaks are detected, the compressor will be considered acceptable. 

Calibrate the detector tube pump for proper volume measurement at least quarterly. Simply connect the pump directly to the bubble meter with a detector mbe in-line. Use a detector mbe and pump from the same manufacturer. Wet the inside of the 100 cc bubble meter with soap solution. For volume calibration, experiment to get the soap bubble even with the zero ml mark of the buret. For piston-type pumps, pull the pump handle all the way out (full pump stroke) and note where the soap bubble stops for bellows-type pumps, compress the bellows fully for automatic pumps, program the pump to take a full pump stroke. 

Bubble generators are commercially available which will produce small neutrally buoyant soap bubbles for use in the visualization of the general flow patterns in rooms. The bubbles are about 3 or 4 mm in diameter and are filled with a lielium/air mixture. In practice, it is difficult to make the bubbles truly... 

There are of course a number of methods that can be classific d a- methods for the visualization of airflow and contaminant dispersion. This i.hapter describes some of these that are useful for designers of industrial vcntilatiou. Methods that not are presented in more detail here are, for example, to fill small soap bubbles or ordinary balloons with helium in order to stuiiy the airflow field in large rooms. A large number of textbooks focus on flow- visualization. The research in this area can also be followed in The lournal of Floif Visualization and Image Processing. -... 

This section is arranged as follows First, premixed combustion is discussed based on the experiments performed under controlled conditions. To establish these conditions the experiments were conducted in explosion vessels, balloons, plastic bags, and soap bubbles. Second, some experiments under uncontrolled conditions... 

Fuel-pair mixtures, in soap bubbles ranging from 4 to 40 cm diameter and with no internal obstacles, produced flame speeds very close to laminar flame speeds. Cylindrical bubbles of various aspect ratios produced even lower flame speeds. For example, maximum flame speeds for ethylene of 4.2 m/s and 5.5 m/s were found in cylindrical and hemispherical bubbles, respectively (Table 4.1a). This phenomenon is attributed to reduced driving forces due to the top relief of combustion products. 

Small-scale experiments with fireballs have been carried out by a number of investigators, and can be roughly divided into two categories. The first includes experiments in which a spherical gas-air mixture contained by a thin envelope at ambient pressure was released, then ignited (soap bubble experiments). 

Fay and Lewis (1977) used spherical gas samples inside soap bubbles whose volumes ranged from 20 to 190 cm. Typically, a sphere was ignited with resistance wire, and the combustion process was then filmed with a high-speed camera. The fireball s maximum height and diameter, as well as the time needed to complete combustion, were evaluated. The fireball s thermal radiation was sensed by a radiation detector. Figure 6.3 relates fireball burning time and size to initial propane... 

Lihou and Maund (1982) used soap bubbles filled with flammable gas which were blown on the bottom of a fireball chamber to form fireballs. A hemispherical bubble was formed on a wire mesh 200 mm above the base of the measuring chamber in order to permit study of elevated sources. The gas bubble was ignited by direct contact with a candle flame, and the combustion process was filmed at a speed of 64 frames per second. The fireball s color temperature was measured. 

Flotation process for concentrating a sulfide ora. Low-grade sulfide ores, including Cu2S, are often concentrated by flotation. The finely divided sulfide particles are trapped in soap bubbles the rocky waste sinks to the bottom and is discarded. 

Example.—Find the excess of pressure inside a soap-bubble 1 mm. in diameter over the atmospheric pressure. (Surface tension of water =81 ergs per sq. cm.) [16 X 10 5 atm.]... 

It can be shown, (Gibbs, Scientific Papers, I. J. J. Thomson, Applications of Dynamics to Physics and Chemistry), that a chemical equilibrium can be modified by the action of capillary forces. Thus, a state of equilibrium in solution may conceivably be modified if the latter is in the form of thin films, such as soap bubbles. Since, according to Freundlich (Kapillarchemie, 116), there is at present no direct evidence of the existence of such modification (which would no doubt be exceedingly, though possibly measurably, small) we shall not enter any further into the matter here. 

The history of the development of the bilayer membrane model is fascinating, and spans at least 300 years, beginning with studies of soap bubbles and oil layers on water [517-519]. 

In 1672 Robert Hooke observed under a microscope the growth of black spots on soap bubbles [520]. Three years later Isaac Newton [521], studying the images... 

Efforts to overcome the limitations of the fragile membranes (as delicate as soap bubbles) have evolved with the use of membrane supports, such as polycarbonate filters (straight-through pores) [543] or other more porous microfilters (sponge-like pore structure) [545-548]. 

Tien, T. H. Ottova, A. L., The lipid bilayer concept and its experimental realization From soap bubbles, kitchen sink, to bilayer lipid membranes, J. Membr. Sci. 189,83-117 (2001). 

The burning velocity, Sa, can be determined by a technique that measures the speed of a spherical flame in a soap bubble. This process is shown below. 

If we consider, not a bubble submerged in liquid, but one surrounded by a thin film of the same, e.g., a soap bubble, we have to take into account the pull on both the internal and external surfaces,... 

FIGURE 12.10 A homemade soap bubble flow meter constructed from an old Mohr pipet, a piece of glass tubing, and a pipet bulb. 

It is obvious that the flow rate must be precisely controlled. The pressure from the compressed gas cylinder of carrier gas, while sufficient to force the gas through a packed column, does not provide the needed flow control. Thus a flow controller valve is built into the system. The flow rate of the carrier gas, as well as other gases used by some detectors, must be able to be carefully measured so that one can know what these flow rates are and be able to optimize them. Flow meters are commercially available. However, a simple soap bubble flow meter is often used and can be constructed easily from an old measuring pipet, a piece of glass tubing, and a pipet bulb. See Figure 12.10. With this apparatus, a stopwatch is used to measure the time it takes a soap bubble squeezed from the bulb to move between two graduation lines, such as the 0- and 10-mL lines. The commercial version uses an electronic sensor to measure the flow rate based on the bubble movement. See Workplace Scene 12.3. 

We measured flow rate with a Varlan P/N 29-000086-00 Soap Bubble Meter. The pressure gauges were Heise bourdon-tube type with 0.1 psla divisions. The column was 16 feet of 1/4 inch copper tubing packed with Carbowax 20M loaded to 20% on Fluoropak 90. 

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