https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/s7 * APS Logo * Journals + Physical Review Letters + Physical Review X + PRX Energy + PRX Quantum + Reviews of Modern Physics + Physical Review A + Physical Review B + Physical Review C + Physical Review D + Physical Review E + Physical Review Research + Physical Review Accelerators and Beams + Physical Review Applied + Physical Review Fluids + Physical Review Materials + Physical Review Physics Education Research + Physical Review + Physical Review (Series I) * Physics Magazine * PhysicsCentral * APS News * Log in APS Physics * About * Browse * Press * Collections [ ] Search [ ] [aps-logo] [logo-dark] [icon-menu] * Home * About * Browse * Journalists * [ ] * APS Journals * APS News Synopsis Record Lifetime for a Bubble January 18, 2022• Physics 15, s7 Researchers created a gas bubble that lived for 465 days, a world record for this type of object. Figure captionexpand figure A. Roux et al. [1] Figure caption A. Roux et al. [1] x Soap bubbles are transient objects, lasting at most a few minutes. Now, Aymeric Roux from University of Lille, France, and colleagues have created bubbles that maintain their structures for more than 200,000 times as long [1]. The long-lived bubbles, which have a layered shell structure made from plastic particles, glycerol, and water, could be used to create stable foams. The team studied a type of bubble known as a gas marble (see Focus: "Gas Marbles" Store Air in Strong Spheres). Such bubbles are typically made from a liquid solution that contains plastic beads. The beads pack together on the bubble's shell, making the bubble strong enough that it can be held in a hand or rolled along a surface. Researchers have explored the mechanical properties of gas marbles but not, until now, their lifetimes. For their experiments, the team studied three different types of bubble: traditional soap bubbles, water-based gas marbles, and water-glycerol-based gas marbles. They monitored the bubbles using a balance and a camera. As expected, the soap bubbles lived for around a minute before bursting, while the water-based gas marbles lasted a little longer, collapsing at the 6-to-60-minute mark. With a high enough glycerol concentration, water-glycerol marbles remained intact for significantly longer, with the longest-lasting one surviving for 465 days after it was made. The team says that the increased longevity of the water-glycerol marbles comes from the stabilizing effects of the glycerol. Glycerol has a strong affinity with water and is known to absorb water from air. The team thinks that this absorption of water compensates for evaporation, while the presence of the particles prevents drainage of water from the shell, both of which are known causes of bubble rupture. -Katherine Wright Katherine Wright is the Deputy Editor of Physics. References 1. A. Roux et al., "Everlasting bubbles and liquid films resisting drainage, evaporation, and nuclei-induced bursting," Phys. Rev. Fluids 7, L011601 (2022). --------------------------------------------------------------------- Everlasting bubbles and liquid films resisting drainage, evaporation, and nuclei-induced bursting Aymeric Roux, Alexis Duchesne, and Michael Baudoin Phys. Rev. Fluids 7, L011601 (2022) Published January 18, 2022 Subject Areas Fluid DynamicsSoft Matter Related Articles Predicting the Shape of Pointy-Rock Forests Fluid Dynamics Predicting the Shape of Pointy-Rock Forests January 11, 2022 The shape and curvature evolution of dissolving rocks can be predicted using a new theory. Read More >> Particles Make Their Own Movie Soft Matter Particles Make Their Own Movie January 7, 2022 Active particles organize into mesmerizing patterns in response to a time-varying electric field. Read More >> Controlling Phase Transitions in a 2D Model System Condensed Matter Physics Controlling Phase Transitions in a 2D Model System December 21, 2021 Modifying surface and boundary features lets researchers control how a 2D model system transitions from a fluid to a crystalline phase. Read More >> More Articles PDF Version [icon-faceb] [icon-twitt] [icon-share] Everlasting bubbles and liquid films resisting drainage, evaporation, and nuclei-induced bursting Aymeric Roux, Alexis Duchesne, and Michael Baudoin Phys. Rev. Fluids 7, L011601 (2022) Published January 18, 2022 Recent Articles * Chasing an Unpredictable Quarry Researchers explore the effects of random motion in a pursuit problem in which hounds chase a hare. * Analysis Finds B Meson Behaves Itself A new analysis of Large Hadron Collider data measures rare decays of the B meson that behave according to the standard model. * Superconductivity Dome Rises from Damped Phonons An unexpectedly simple extension to a theory explains the critical temperature anomalies observed in ferroelectric superconductors. More Recent Articles >> Sign up to receive weekly email alerts from Physics. [ ] [Sign Up] * APS * News and Announcements * Join APS * Contact Us * + APS Journals + About + Authors + Referees + Subscriptions * + Students + Physics + PhysicsCentral + Student Membership * + APS Members + Subscriptions + Article Packs + Membership + FAQ + APS News + Meetings & Events --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Privacy * Policies * Contact Information * Feedback Use of the American Physical Society websites and journals implies that the user has read and agrees to our Terms and Conditions and any applicable Subscription Agreement.