What’s the secret recipe for giant bubbles?
How to make a giant bubble
Physicists tested bubble recipes from street performers to find the best mix for enormous bubbles.
Inspired by giant-bubble artists and an online bubble-recipe wiki, the team mixed soap, water and long stringy polymers, then measured how thick the films were and how long they lasted.
The polymers are the secret: they make the soapy film stretchy so it doesn’t snap as it grows. They even shared a recipe, making this possibly the most fun physics homework ever set.
Big bubbles need long molecules. And a lot of patience.