Science faction

Here is a cool science experiment the YOU can do at home

Frozen Bubbles

 

The sad thing about soap bubbles is that they don’t last very long. Here is an idea how you can preserve them for a bit, at least if it’s cold enough outside.

First you need to create a beautiful soap bubble and then you need to keep it alive long enough for it to freeze. That can be done out in the cold or – if you have access to it – with the help of dry ice. If you have space in your freezer that might work as well.

Bubbles

A soap bubble is a very thin film of soapy water that forms a sphere with an iridescent surface. Soap bubbles usually last for only a few moments before bursting, either on their own or on contact with another object. They are often used for children's enjoyment, but they are also used in artistic performances. Soap bubbles can help solve complex mathematical problems of space, as they will always find the smallest surface area between points or edges

Dry Ice Bubbles

Materials

• Bubble Solution (from the store or make your own)
• Dry Ice
• Gloves (for handling the dry ice)
• Glass Box or Cardboard Box

Procedure

1. Using gloves to protect your hands, place a chunk of dry ice in the bottom of glass bowl or cardboard box. Glass is nice because it's clear.
2. Allow about 5 minutes for carbon dioxide gas to accumulate in the container.
3. Blow bubbles down into the container. The bubbles will fall until they reach the layer of carbon dioxide. They will hover at the interface between air and carbon dioxide. The bubbles will start to sink as the bubbles cool and the carbon dioxide replaces some of the air within them. Bubbles that come into contact with the dry ice chunk or fall into the cold layer at the bottom of the container will freeze! You can pick them up for closer examination (no gloves needed). The bubbles will thaw and eventually pop as they warm.
4. As the bubbles age, their color bands will change and they will become more transparent. The bubble liquid is light, but it is still affected by gravity and is pulled to the bottom of a bubble. Eventually, the film at the top of a bubble becomes so thin that it will open and the bubble will pop.

Explanation

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is heavier than most of the other gases present in air (normal air is mostly nitrogen, N2, and oxygen, O2), so most of the carbon dioxide will settle to the bottom of the aquarium. Bubbles filled with air will float on top of the heavier carbon dioxide. Here's a tutorial for calculating molecular mass, just in case you want to prove this for yourself!

Notes

Adult supervision is recommended for this project. Dry ice is cold enough to give frostbite, so you need to wear protective gloves when handling it.

Also, be aware that extra carbon dioxide is added to the air as dry ice vaporizes. Carbon dioxide is naturally present in air, but under some circumstances, the extra amount can present a health hazard.

Cold Bubbles

At HowStuffWorks they tell you how to do it with just cold weather.

Fact of the day

The most dangerous animal in the world is the common housefly. Because of their habits of visiting animal waste, they transmit more diseases than any other animal.