Bubble dynamics over a liquid surface

AI Thread Summary
Two air bubbles over a liquid surface, such as water, exhibit a phenomenon where they accelerate towards each other when they come close. This behavior can be explained by the "Cheerios effect," where the bubbles create a depression in the liquid surface that attracts them together. The interaction of the bubbles with the liquid surface leads to a change in pressure, causing them to move towards one another. This effect is a result of surface tension and fluid dynamics. Understanding this phenomenon can provide insights into bubble interactions in various scientific and industrial applications.
Anakratis
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Hey all,

Interestingly enough, I was actually recently feeding some ducks at a nearby pond when I noticed a cool phenomenon that I couldn't explain myself, so I was hoping you guys could assist in that.

When you have two air bubbles over a liquid surface, like water, they seem to accelerate towards one another once they get close enough. Could anyone explain why this is?

Thanks! :)
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Anakratis said:
When you have two air bubbles over a liquid surface, like water, they seem to accelerate towards one another once they get close enough. Could anyone explain why this is?

If I understand you correctly, the bubbles perturb the water surface similar to the "Cheerios effect"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerios_effect
 

Thread '1:1 versus 2:1 Mechanical Advantage debate'

The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
View full post »

Thread 'Average velocity as a weighted mean'

Hello everyone, Consider the problem in which a car is told to travel at 30 km/h for L kilometers and then at 60 km/h for another L kilometers. Next, you are asked to determine the average speed. My question is: although we know that the average speed in this case is the harmonic mean of the two speeds, is it also possible to state that the average speed over this 2L-kilometer stretch can be obtained as a weighted average of the two speeds? Best regards, DaTario
View full post »

Thread 'Newton's first law?'

Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
View full post »

Similar threads

Surface Tension: Pressure Diff & Cross-Sectional Area Explained
Replies
1
Views
1K
How Water Can Form "Reverse Bubbles" - Explained
Replies
19
Views
4K
Combustion of an explosive liquid bubble
Replies
2
Views
2K
I Bubbles travelling through viscous liquids
Replies
1
Views
2K
Need help- calculating clearing of bubbles from a microfluidic channel
Replies
4
Views
2K
Shape of a bubble inside a rotating container
Replies
5
Views
2K
Rotational Inertia Gas vs Liquid
Replies
2
Views
2K
Understanding Vapour Pressure & Temperature Difference
Replies
18
Views
2K
I Use a level to test the Earth's curvature?
Replies
12
Views
4K
Variations in bubble persistance
Replies
1
Views
1K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top