What would happen if you tried to blow a soap (肥皂) bubble in below-freezing weather? Would it freeze and fall to the ground? Would you have to hit it with a stone to break it? These questions came into my mind one cold winter day. It was too cold to play in the snow, but it was a perfect time to experiment with blowing frozen bubbles.
To blow frozen bubbles, I had to wait until the air outside was very cold. For this activity, that meant 10 degrees below 0 Fahrenheit or colder. I didn't have the bubble things that come in a bottle, so I used dish-washing soap. Adding a drop of glycerin made the soap work even better. I chose a place out of the wind, and blew bubbles the same way I always do. I watched to see what would happen. Here's what I learned.
If the temperature is low enough, the skin of the bubble frosts (结霜) over, becoming cloudy instead of clear. And what about those rainbow swirls (漩涡状物体) that you see in soap bubbles? The rainbow colors stay even (均匀的) when the bubbles frost, but they don't spin anymore. The bubbles still float in the air. They don't fall to the ground any faster than they would on a warm summer day.
When these frozen bubbles break, they don't turn into tiny drops of soap as summer bubbles do. They turn into shiny rainbow pieces and fly slowly to the ground. Sometimes a frozen bubble will roll across the snow without breaking. If it breaks, it may leave a strong bubble skin on the ground. Leave the bubble alone and it may stay there for a long time.
Sometimes I could catch a bubble and hold it until the heat of my hand made it pop.
I learned one other thing about blowing frozen bubbles. It's so much fun. I want to try it again next year!
