Frozen Bubble

Day 123: Until recently, temperatures haven't been low enough for me to have any success at making frozen bubbles, but when I got up yesterday morning, it was 17. As soon as there was enough light, I took my little jar of bubble solution outside to play. Most of the bubbles burst as soon as they touched the snow, although a couple of large ones seemed like they might survive. A light breeze collapsed several more before they were completely frozen, and rather than shattering like ice and retaining sharp edges, they went down like deflating balloons. Twenty minutes later, only three or four remained, including this big one. After photographing it, I gave it a delicate poke. Apparently I still don't have the sugar/water/dish soap formula quite right because it had not hardened fully and subsided into an angular mound of semi-ice. By then, I was too cold to make another attempt.

Very Cold Fun

Day 93: Several years ago, when I first saw images of broken frozen soap bubbles on the internet, I decided that on the next bitterly cold day, I'd try to create them. Now "bitterly cold days" don't come often in western Washington, and when one finally did arrive, I failed miserably at my appointed task. I wrote off the lack of success to our marine climate, but the issue was actually in the formula I was using to make my bubble liquid. Thanks to my friends Joe and Sharon (Team Biota) who supplied the secret, I took advantage of the current chilly temps to try again.

First of all, I'd like to explain that this is not a quick process, so put on your long johns and wool socks, and don't forget your hat. It took about twenty minutes for the "super-bubbles" to freeze, and only a few of them survived that long. The first few I tried to break simply deflated and collapsed in on themselves. Patience will reward you with success. Go in the house and warm up while you're waiting. Give your bubbles at least 10 minutes before you start trying to break them. The image in the lower left shows a popped but still slightly limp half-shell.

So what is the secret ingredient? Corn syrup. The sugar polymerizes and yields a bubble with extended longevity. I used a straw to blow 1-1.5" bubbles. It was 25° when I conducted the experiment. Colder temps would give a faster freeze time.

Here's the magic recipe, reduced to a much more reasonable eighth from the original supplied by Sharon and Joe:

3/8 cup of water
1/8 cup of dishwashing liquid (I used Dawn)
1 Tbsp. white corn syrup (Karo)