Soap bubble (nonfiction)

Youth blowing soap bubble.

A soap bubble is an extremely thin film of soapy water enclosing air that forms a hollow sphere with an iridescent surface.

Soap bubbles usually last for only a few seconds before bursting, either on their own or on contact with another object.

When light shines onto a bubble it appears to change color.

Unlike those seen in a rainbow, which arise from differential refraction, the colors seen in a soap bubble arise from interference of light reflecting off the front and back surfaces of the thin soap film.

In the News

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  Radon Lake plasma bubble inspired by soap bubble.

Fiction cross-reference

• Radon Lake

Nonfiction cross-reference

• Color (nonfiction)

External links:

• Soap bubble @ Wikipedia