What happens when soap bubbles freeze?

August 9, 2023 8:41 AM

Soap Bubbles, mid-winter Quebec. Explanation: "When a liquid freezes, it releases excess energy as heat. In freezing conditions, a bubble's bottom freezes first, releasing heat that warms the adjacent liquid. This causes water to flow to the top of the bubble, where more heat is released, creating stress on the freeze front. This stress leads to the formation of tiny ice crystals that slide across the bubble's surface. Despite the appearance of multiple freeze fronts, it's actually just one freeze front."
posted by storybored (6 comments total)

Pretty! Thank you, I really enjoyed this.
posted by OrangeDisk at 9:03 AM on August 9, 2023

Wow!

I would love to see some of these in super-slow-motion...
posted by mbrubeck at 9:57 AM on August 9, 2023

Intriguing!
posted by mdoar at 10:06 AM on August 9, 2023

Pretty cool how the fact that it's in Canada causes the water to freeze into ice crystals that look like maple leaves.
Well done Canadian science, well done.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 10:38 AM on August 9, 2023 [5 favorites]

If it's cold enough, bubbles blown into the air will freeze before they land, and then roll around!
posted by vasi at 2:26 PM on August 9, 2023 [6 favorites]

After watching this a few times, I noticed it's got ASMR vibe, lol. So now I have it running in the background.
Also one of the best bubbles happens at 0:35.
posted by storybored at 8:23 PM on August 9, 2023