Permanent bubble colours

The reflected colours in a soap bubble are beautiful, but the trouble is that they don’t last long! Here is a way to make a lasting sheet of bubble-like colours.

You will need:

• a bottle of clear nail polish
• a large flat tray
• black posterboard
• water

How to do it:

1. Add water to the tray.
2. Submerge the black posterboard beneath the water’s surface.
3. Let a drop of clear nail polish fall onto the water’s surface. It will spread out into a thin film straight away.
4. Carefully lift the black posterboard out of the water so that your thin film of nail polish comes out with it.
5. Let the nail polish dry on the posterboard.
6. When it has dried, look at it from different angles to see colours that look like bubble colours!

What’s happening?

When you drop the nail polish into the water, it spreads out into a very thin layer. Light reflects off both the upper and lower surfaces of this thin layer. The two reflections combine and interfere with each other. The interference creates the colours you see!

Oil films on the roads are colourful because of light interference.

In Wonderworks you can take a look at a magnified bubble film using the Bubble Projector exhibit—now you know how the colours were created!

Permanent bubble colours
Beautiful enough to hang on the wall!

Explore More

Bubble Projector
Shine white light through a thin sheet of bubble film and watch the colours that are projected onto a wall. The colours you see will tell you just how thick the bubble film is in places. Use the fan to make the colours swirl around.

See more exhibits...

Beauty & science in your world
Share amazing scientific phenomena
that you’ve seen.