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Amigajoe
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Since I was a little kid I've noticed that when water is splashed on a flat surface, there are usually some 'special' bubbles that I called 'reverse bubbles'. Reverse bubbles differed from the regular kind by their appearance (very bright and shiny) and their motion, (rapid, indicating substantial mass). Oddly, whenever I mentioned this, no one ever claimed to see them! The phenom was especially obvious in stainless-steel sinks and on cars being washed. it was obvious to me that these were bubbles of water instead of air; the mystery was how this was possible. Anyway I recently got a digital camera with a high-speed mode video and decided to capture some of my reverse bubbles to show to an oblivious world. Upon examining my recording I found something amazing (to me). The 'bubbles' were in fact not bubbles but little spheres of water rolling along like glass marbles! So now I'm even more bewildered. The balls of water skitter along very quickly and usually last less than a second, but they are definitely little spheres of water rolling along across a layer of water (?) To eliminate the idea of surface tension holding them together I spread a thin layer of soap (dishwashing liquid) across the surface; if anything the effect is enhanced! I'm posting this here, risking scorn and derision for treating a well-known thing as a new discovery because I want answers and haven't been able to find any! I put the video on YouTube and can provide a link if anyone's interested.Many thanks
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