The Bursting of Bubbles

Abstract

THE interesting letter appearing under the above title in the issue of NATURE for February 15 reminds me of a different, but equally simple, method of producing the same phenomenon, described in the Proceedings of the Physical Society, vol. xxviii., p. 59, 1915. There, in order to avoid obscuring the issue, the bubbles are said to discharge minute clouds of smoke; but, as often as not, smoke-rings like those described by Mr. Campbell Swinton and Miss Beale were obtained by Mr. Moss. In this method bubbles (of air) of any desired size can be used. These are filled with smoke by placing a wire, conveying a current of appropriate strength (easily determined by trial), above the end of the tube through which they enter the oil. A similar phenomenon is exhibited, very effectively, in a well known experiment with phosphoretted hydrogen.