Now you see, now you don't! Bubbles exist for few minutes and pop in thin air. They are delicate and fascinating. As kids, we have bought many toys and definitely, most of us would have bought a bubble making toy.

Bubbles manage to fascinate most of us, no matter which age group we belong to. If not a toy, we have learnt to make bubbles in the bathroom using the soap as we bathe... But have you given a thought on how bubbles are formed and what are they made of? Everything has a science involved behind it and bubbles are no exceptions. Let us unveil the secret behind how these fascinating transparent balls work...

What are bubbles?

Just as you guessed it right, bubbles are just a thin film of soap. Bubbles are transparent and delicate in nature. A mere finger touch is enough to break them. Most bubbles are filled with air and you can make a bubble using other gases as well like carbon dioxide. The film that makes bubbles is made of three layers. The first layer is a thin layer of water that is sandwiched between two layers of soap molecules. Each soap molecule is so oriented that its polar or hydrophilic head faces the water, while its hydrophobic hydrocarbon tail is away from the water layer. No matter what shape a bubble has initially, it will try to become a sphere at the end. The sphere is the shape that minimizes the surface area of the structure and helps in making it the shape that requires the least energy to achieve.

Know what happens when bubbles meet?

Have you tried creating more than one bubble? When you create two bubbles, do not stack? No, instead they will merge walls in order to minimize their surface area. In case the two bubbles are of the same size, their walls that separate them will be flat. If the bubbles are of different sizes, then the smaller bubble will merge into the larger bubble to form one single large bubble.

When bubbles meet, their walls merge to form the shape of hexagons. You can try this by blowing two different bubbles on two separate plates.

Here is a video that shows the process of bubble merging
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpnuaQqzlQc

Find out what are bubble solutions made of?

You guessed it right, bubble solutions are made of soap and glycerine is mostly added as an ingredient in the bubble solution. Soap contains detergent as the main ingredient. Detergents form bubbles when it comes in contact with water. However, detergent also contains some ions that may prevent the bubbles from forming.

Soaps contain a carboxylate group that reacts with calcium and magnesium ions, while detergents lack this functional group. Glycerine extends the life of a bubble by forming weak hydrogen bonds with water and also slows down its evaporation process.

Next time, when you make bubbles, do remember this science that is involved behind the bubbles. This will make it more interesting and fascinating.