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General Physics Science Fair Project

Antibubbles: Air-Skinned Spheres Underwater

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Antibubbles: Air-Skinned Spheres Underwater | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
What happens when you flip a bubble inside out? A normal bubble is a thin film of water surrounding air. An antibubble is the opposite: a thin shell of air surrounding a drop of water, floating underwater. You fill a jar in the sink and let water overflow to keep the surface clean. Then you add dish soap and fill a squeeze bottle with the soapy water. You shoot a gentle jet through a surface droplet. The jet pulls a layer of air down with it. That air-coated strand breaks into small antibubbles. Poke one with a pencil and it vanishes instantly. Watch closely under bright light and you will see rainbow colors at the bottom of each antibubble, not the top.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that it is possible to make underwater antibubbles with a little practice.

Method & Materials

You will need to create a clean water surface, add some soap to the water, and fill a glue bottle with soapy water. Then, you will need to place the tip of the water-filled squirt bottle near the water surface and give it a gentle puff and squeeze to create a single water globule.
You will need a kitchen sink, a large clean jar, an Elmer's glue bottle, and dishwashing detergent.

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Results

The experiment showed that it is possible to make underwater antibubbles with a little practice. The antibubbles display rings of color at the bottom of the bubbles, rather than at the top like normal soap bubbles.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting and unique because it involves creating something that is not commonly seen - an antibubble.

Also Consider

Experiment variations to consider include using different temperatures of water and vibrating the antibubbles to extend their lifetimes.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

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