Anti-Bubbles (Creative Chemistry Experiments)

You will need:

1. Sugar
2. Dish-washing liquid
   soap
3. Straw
4. Water
5. Glass
6. Teaspoon

Where normal bubbles are filled with gas, anti-bubbles are the globules of liquid surrounded by a thin film of gas. While they are a common occurrence, we don’t always notice them.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take a glass filled with water and dish-washing liquid soap mixed together.
2. Pour 2-3 teaspoonfuls of sugar into this soapy water (dish-washing liquid soap+water).
3. Do not stir. Let the sugar settle and form a layer at the bottom.
4. Drip the sugar solution (sugar dissolved in water) with the help of a straw into the soapy water liquid.
5. It may take a few tries, but the anti-bubbles will form and settle on the sugar layer at the bottom of the glass.

RESULT

The soap in the water reduces the surface tension. As a result, the thin film of air surrounding the dripping sugar solution persists inside the water and soap solution creating anti-bubbles, which refract light back towards the source, thus making them appear brighter.