Bubbles have always been popular among kids. Part of the fun is guessing which bubble would last longer than the others. Still, eventually, all of them would pop after a few seconds, making it practically impossible to survive for several minutes.
However, now the childhood whims of many people have become true. Scientists from the University of Lille in France were capable of creating bubbles that could live for 465 days. Still, there is a catch.
An article published via APS Physics describes the research. The team had been studying “gas marbles.” According to previous records, plastic beads covered with shells made of bubbles can endure being held in hand or perhaps rolled through a plain surface. The scientists had never researched how much time bubbles could last.
The team experimented with different types of bubbles, ones made from soap, water-based gas marbles, and water-glycerol-based marbles. As expected, the soap bubbles had the shortest lifespan, only surviving less than one minute. On the other hand, the water-glycerol bubbles survived 465 days after they were created.
This lifespan is now the world record for the longest-lasting bubble.
The scientists concluded that the glycerol absorbed water from the air to preserve the moisture that evaporation takes from the object while also stopping the bubble from absorbing enough water to pop itself.
Although the experiment may seem pointless to some, some people suggest that the experiment could be useful in consumer, medical, and other products. However, the team behind the experiment has not made a comment on how their long-lasting bubble could be useful in the future yet.
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