
Photographer Tom Falconer creates and captures images of frozen bubbles. Goli Mohammed of Make interviewed Falconer and asked him how he does it:
For frozen bubbles I usually wait until it is (at the warmest) 10 below freezing (22 F) and even at that temp they will take a few minutes to freeze. Again it needs to be extremely calm, because you’ll need to blow the bubble then catch it on the wand or some kind of wet surface and wait for it to freeze. As it freezes the thick swirls in the bubble will stop moving, and little fingers of ice crystals will creep across the surface. They don’t freeze into something that will shatter, they tend to be somewhat rubbery and will eventually collapse on itself.

This looks like a lot of fun, but watching the video is a lot less messy than doing it yourself. Some of the bubbles this guy made are at least 15 feet across! Note the video is in slow-motion, on second look I don’t think it’s in slow motion, but you still get a good look at how giant bubbles collapse when they burst. I also have to wonder, at what point does a bubble become so big that it is no longer round? Link (embedded vimeo clip)

While we were waiting for Zubbles, I completely missed the development of black light bubbles! Tekno Bubbles are the creation of Byron and Melody Swetland. They glow blue or gold under ultraviolet light, available in one ounce or gallon sizes. You don’t even have to blow bubbles to enjoy this -you can paint the bubble mixture on a surface to make glowing decorations! Link -via Random Good Stuff
They’ve been in development for fifteen years, and were supposed to launch sales to the public two years ago. Now finally, you can buy Zubbles, soap bubbles in bright colors that don’t stain fabric. Inventor Tim Kehoe spent $3 million to develop Zubbles and bring them to market.
Once a bubble pops, the dye fades in 15 minutes on virtually every material imaginable: concrete, leather, nylon, cotton and paint. Even easily stained material like silk remain unstained 15 minutes after a Zubble touches them.
Right now, consumers can only buy blue and pink bubbles, although Kehoe says that he can create bubbles of any color.
Link to story. Link to website. -via reddit

It’s very cold tonight, so we played with bubbles If you blow them upwards enough they have time to freeze on the way down.
Skipweasel took photographs of the experiments in blowing soap bubbles in freezing weather. The pictures are wild -especially when you see a frozen bubble bursting! Link

