Bubbles and liquid films resisting drainage, evaporation and nuclei-induced bursting

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel composite liquid film that significantly enhances bubble stability, resisting drainage, evaporation, and bursting, enabling bubbles to last over a year in standard atmospheric conditions.

Contribution

Introduction of a new composite film for bubbles that resists common destabilizing effects, supported by a nonlinear model and enabling complex, long-lasting bubble structures.

Findings

Bubbles with the composite film last over one year in air.

The composite film neutralizes drainage, evaporation, and nuclei-induced bursting.

A nonlinear model explains the stability mechanisms.

Abstract

Soap bubbles are by essence fragile and ephemeral. Depending on their composition and environment, bubble bursting can be triggered by gravity-induced drainage and/or the evaporation of the liquid and/or the presence of nuclei. They can also shrink due to the diffusion of the inner gas in the outside atmosphere induced by Laplace overpressure. In this paper, we design bubbles made of a composite liquid film able to neutralize all these effects and keep their integrity for more than one year in a standard atmosphere. The unique properties of this composite film are rationalized with a nonlinear model and used to design complex objects.