Make your own antibubbles

You’ve seen regular bubbles that are made of a layer of liquid that surrounds a sphere of air. Now it’s time to try making antibubbles! These are bubbles that are made of a layer of air surrounding a sphere of liquid.

You will need:

• water (preferably distilled)
• dish washing liquid
• a deep, clear container such as a tall glass
• an eyedropper or a small syringe (without the needle!)
• food colouring (optional)
• table salt (optional)

How do to it:

1. Fill the clear container with water and add a squirt of dish washing liquid. Gently mix them together so that you don’t form soap bubbles on the surface!
2. Use the eyedropper or syringe to pick up some of the liquid.
3. Hold the eyedropper or syringe a couple of millimetres above the surface of the liquid and point it straight down. Quickly and gently squirt out a drop or a small stream of liquid. It will shoot below the surface and hopefully make an antibubble!

Alternative 1: After step 1, collect some of the soapy water in a cup. Add a drop of food colouring to the soapy water in the cup and gently mix it. Use this water to form the antibubbles to prove that the bubble is filled with liquid!

Alternative 2: After step 1, collect some of the soapy water in a cup. Add salt to the soapy water in the cup and gently mix it until it dissolves. Use this salty water to form antibubbles that sink instead of float.

What’s happening?

Antibubbles are a sphere of liquid surrounded by a thin coating of air. When you quickly squirt a stream of soapy water beneath the surface of the water, some air is dragged under the surface. This air surrounds the stream of liquid you squirted and closes over the top. To minimise its surface area, the antibubble contracts into a sphere.

The antibubble will last until it hits one of the walls of the container or too much fluid leaks in.

You can see other unusual underwater creations at Wonderworks. Pump on the handle in the Air Rings exhibit to create a vortex or a torus (doughnut) of air underwater!

Make your own antibubbles
It's an antibubble!

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