Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1895-07-08

employ. This is very important mat
ter. Common soap is useless for the
purpose of blowing good bubbles, and
the best thing to use is substance
bought at any drug store. If, however,
this cannot for any reason be obtained,
CASTLE soap may be used, but this does
not answer SO well as the oleate of soda.
In either case three-quarters of an
ounce are weighed out and placed in a
perfectly clean quart bottle, together
with pint and a half of clean rain
water. This is left for about a day,
when the Oleate will have dissolved in
the water. The bottle may be shaken
up occasionally, but must not be heated,
as this would spoil the solution for max
ing good bubbles. When the oleate of
soda has completely dissolved, add half
pint of best glycerine, and the solution
is ready for use.
Now make stand Of stout copper wire
by bending one end into a circular loop
about 21a inches in diameter, and fasten
it either by twisting or, better, by solder
ing the joint smoothly. Then at about
at right angles and fix the other end into
a block of wood. If the loop is thorough
~ wetted with the soap solution and a
bubble is brought in contact with the
loop, it will adhere to the wire and the
pipe can be removed.
The bubble now remains seated on the
ring and is a very beautiful object, the
most splendid colors chasing each other
across it's surface.
In order to show, first of all, the great
elasticity of the bubble, take clean glass
rod, moisten it thoroughly with the soap
solution and push it gently through the
side of the bubble; The rod may be
withdraw without injury to the bubble
if the rod is properly wetted with the So
luton.
Next take q short piece, say about six
inches, of glass tube having diameter of
half an inch; dip one end in the solution
and blow the bubble, upon it: On remov-
ing the tube from the mouth the bubble
quickly contracts, forcing out the air
from the interior with such violence that
on bringing a lighted taper to the mouth
piece the flame is at once extinguished.
Another capital experiment consists in
detaching a bubble from the pipe and
catching it in it's descent on the sleeve of
the coat; or the experiment may be made
still more effective by substituting for the
coat-sleeve a fiannel-covered tennis rae
Quet, by means of which the bubble may
be tossed about with impunity.
To still further demonstrate the tenacity
and elasticity of the soap film, procure a
few inches of aluminium wire of about
the thickness of a small pin; or if this
will answer the purpose. Bend it into a
circular loop of about two inches in d.
ameter, and leave a suficiency of wire to
form a handle. Now take the pipe and
affix bubble to the underside of the
copper ring, detach the pipe and remove
the small drop of liquid which adheres
to the under surface of the bubble by
touching it with the tip of a moistened
glass rod. Next moisten the aluminium
ring and gently apply it to the bottom of
the bubble, to which it will at once at
tach itself Then take some V-shaped
slips of thin paper to act as weights. and
suspend one by one upon the handle Of
the aluminium ring. If this is carefully
done quite a large number of these little
weights may be added before the COM
bined weights of ring and paper cause
the bubble to break.
When we consider the exceeding thin
ness of the soap-bubble films, their tre-
mendouS elasticity and strength appear
to be little short of marvellous. Tos COM
pare them to gold leaf, which is one of the
thinnest of ordinary substances, it has
been found that the finest gold leaf is
400 times thicker than the film of soap
bubble, whilst it would require $4,000 of
these gold leaves to make a pile of one
inch in height.
The Gghtness of the bubble may be
finely shown thus: Attach the pipe to a
gasburner by means of an India rubber
tube, dip the bowl of the pipe into the
soap solution. withdraw the pipe and al
low the bubble to fill with gas, the flow