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View Full Version : More cool science: Colored bubbles!




Flowbee
Nov 27, 2005, 05:27 PM
Coming soon to a store near you: Zubbles (http://www.zubbles.com).

Read the background story in Popular Science...
"The 11-Year Quest to Create Disappearing Colored Bubble" (http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/0a03b5108e097010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html)

Good stuff.



gwuMACaddict
Nov 27, 2005, 06:05 PM
wow... what a link- and a story!

can't wait to get some! guess i'm really not too old to be playing with bubbles... :rolleyes: :D

katie ta achoo
Nov 27, 2005, 06:07 PM
Sweet!

Is this applicable to bubble bath? My nephew would get a kick out of it! :)

dops7107
Nov 27, 2005, 06:09 PM
Actually that's pretty clever. The story was a good one too - the endless hours of failure. Shame he wasn't very scientific about it at first, and only later did he decide to get someone involved with a bit more of a directed approach.

I like to see science success stories! :D

Is this applicable to bubble bath? My nephew would get a kick out of it!

Don't think so - as soon as the dye hits water it loses its colour, apparently. Perhaps the bubbles at the top of the pile might stay coloured. So many prospects out there!

PlaceofDis
Nov 27, 2005, 06:14 PM
yeah i read about this a week or so ago, pretty darn cool thats for sure.

tobefirst
Nov 27, 2005, 06:16 PM
I love the future uses listed at the end of the article...the ability to mop and see where you've mopped, kinda like you can play with masks in photoshop and see where the masked portion is in red, seems hella cool.

OutThere
Nov 27, 2005, 06:16 PM
It sounds like if he had gone to a dye-chemist much earlier he wouldn't have had to spend 11 years trying to make the bubbles...but at least he got there!

Which brings me to another point...why haven't I gotten that issue of PopSci yet....? I'm off to go verify my subscription...:p

Flowbee
Nov 28, 2005, 09:59 AM
One thing I noticed from the video on the Zubbles website is that the Zubbles seem to be a bit heavier than normal bubbles. In one quick shot (at about 40 seconds in), they show a child blowing a bubble that falls straight down. There are other shots of groups of zubbles all falling downward together. This wouldn't be normal behavior for regular bubbles (especially outdoors).

I'm looking forward to tessting these myself. We use bubbles at work every night, and adding colors would be really magical.

joepunk
Nov 28, 2005, 11:30 AM
Should be great for little kids. I find that bubbles entertain little ones very easily and is so simple. All I have to do is sit and either let them blow the bubbles or I do it for them.

devilot
Nov 28, 2005, 11:34 AM
Should be great for little kids. I find that bubbles entertain little ones very easily and is so simple. All I have to do is sit and either let them blow the bubbles or I do it for them.Great for kids?! Great for me! That picture of the toy maker/inventor makes it look like so much fun. :o I wanna make colorful bubbles!

Lacero
Nov 28, 2005, 11:36 AM
I read about his story about a decade ago. Wasn't sure if his time spent inventing it would be fruitful. I may still be right.

Here's to the Crazy Ones http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35452 (http://www.uriah.com/apple-qt/movies/think-different.mov)