Scientific method +
Evolution = the perfect juice? (HA!)
So now in this story, it's late November into December. The
cruelest time, atmospherically speaking, to bubble. Good.
If I can make a formula work in midwinter, surely it would
be easily adaptable for fair weather months.
I was young and naive those few months ago. And forgetful.
My game plan: figure out what components
are necessary to include in a soap bubble formula.
Understand what qualities each one brings to the mix.
Gather many variations of each component. Test different
brews, in a controlled experiment, recording the results
faithfully. Whittle away at the options keeping only the
best combinations. The net result would be dishpan hands
and the perfect juice. It would be a combination of the
scientific method and evolution. It would take some time,
but that's okay. Time and patience I have plenty of. The
result would be a perfectly engineered bouncing baby bubble
(juice) I could call my own.
My efforts I'll outline here, but let me tell you now: I
forgot to use distilled water. I used tap water. I should
have varied the soap I used and I didn't. I got so caught
up in "the length of bubble life has everything to do with
the glycerine/viscocity angle" that I neglected to take
into account soap and water. Stupid.
Did I still learn a lot about what makes bubbles tick?
Sure. But distilled water and a better choice in soap would
have resulted in a grander payoff. With that in mind,
here's what happened. It was mostly a
viscosity/elasticity/antievaporation experiment.
I knew the mix had to contain:
1. Water.
2. A liquid dish detergent.
3. Something to thicken it. Some sites recommended
glycerine. Others, a dose of commercial bubble juice.
Another site (Bubbletown) suggested increasing viscosity
with boiled flax seed water.
1. After investigating the difference between distilled
water, spring water and tap water, I discovered distilled
water contained far fewer minerals and other elements that
might act to reduce the power of the surfactants in the
soap/detergent. And then I promptly forgot to use distilled
water.
2. Bubblers were either "Dawn" or "Joy" fans and chose
concentrate or non concentrated versions of their brand of
choice. Joy sounded more promising than Dawn. As if success
was already here and I wouldn't have to wait for tomorrow.
Non-ultra sounded better because it was cheaper and I was
about to burn through a lot of dish soap. So, Joy Non
Ultra. (I had so much to learn!)
3. Viscosity. This intrigued me. The more viscous a liquid
is (normal people call it "thicker") the longer the juice
is supposed to take to drain to the bottom of a bubble. It
helps to delay evaporation. It also makes for thicker
walled bubbles, and that promotes brighter rainbow colors
as well. Longer life and better looking? Like most
Americans this aspect caught my eye and seduced me.
Each of the mixes described below was tested against my
"control" solutions. Fan Yang Special Solution #1
& #2. Number one, I got from SteveSpanglerScience.com,
and from day one it blew my socks off. These days I can
brew up batches I like better but Fan's #1 solution was a
real eye opener for me. I got it early on and it beat the
pants off of Mr. Bubbles who was my long standing hero. #1
lived longer, took harsher punishment, repeatedly bubble in
bubbled - Something I couldn't get Mr. B to do in the arid
mid winter. Fan's #2 I got from an ebay auction. Same
label. Different stuff. Even smelled different. It smelled
like Puestefix, if you know what I mean.
#1 lasted twice+ as long as #2. I've since bought more of
Fan's Special Solution, but have never found one that plays
as well as that first bottle. Anyway, those were my
unaltered control solutions. I still haven't figured out
why Fan put the same label on what were clearly different
solutions. Later, I read on his website that he was
marketing certain bottles to the US and others to Canada
and that he had some sort of relationship with Pustefix,
later with Gazillion. If YOU know (or have an idea about)
why these bottles contained different juice, please contact
me. Both were bought late in '04.
On to viscosity.
I found 2 kinds of
glycerine. The cheap kind came off the shelf of a local
drug store in a four ounce bottle in the skin care isle.
The expensive kind came from behind the counter in a W-Mart
pharmacy. The cheap kind was thicker/more viscous. The
expensive glycerine was thinner and somehow looked cleaner.
Purely opinion, but it did pour less gloppily. This
distinction between "expensive" and "cheap" glycerine I
found later has to do with manufacture and purity. The
expensive glycerine was Kosher grade vegetable glycerine,
made from coconut oil mostly. It's the kind of glycerine
you can cook with or add to drinks to sweeten them up. The
cheap glycerine I believe is a byproduct of soap making
process which often includes rendering animal fats or
something. It's not toxic but not edible. Less "pure" and
of more questionable manufacture/origin. You find it by the
gallon in chemical supply houses online. The expensive
stuff you find in healthfood/aromatherapy/natural soap
making supplies online.
In researching glycerine and viscosity, my mind wandered
(after considerable research and a comment from my wife)
to
personal lubricants. Those tubes of slippery stuff
they sell in the unmentionable dept. of drug stores. Not
only did many of them contain glycerine, they had other
stuff in them that made them even more viscous
(thicker-remember?). I marched right into the unmentionable
isle of three different stores and loaded up a basket with
Astroglide gel, KY jelly, Brooks brand jelly, Equate which
is W-Mart's brand jelly. Months later I found Surgilube at
a medical supply store. Surgilube might just be my favorite
lube at the moment.
Now, I was all set for a radical binge of soap bubble
brewing in my basement.
In retrospect, I should have picked up a hygrometer to keep
track of humidity. I also should have bought more Mr.
Bubbles to use in the tests but was having trouble finding
big bottles of it so I went with Miracle Bubbles as the
commercial bubble solution when included in the tests.
Tests:
Speaking of the
"test", it was what I called a timed "hang" test. Always
with the same wand (a Mr. B wand rinsed between tests) I
would blow a few bubbles and let them drop to the floor.
Then I would re-dip and blow a softball sized bubble, catch
it, and hang it off of the edge of the table from an
alligator clip/weight which was on the table. I started
timing when the bubble was caught. Knocked off big drips
with a straw. Recorded the time when the bubble popped.
Then re-dipped to make a slightly bigger bubble, released
it about face height and tried to blow a bubble through the
side for a bubble in a bubble. If it didn't pop, I caught
it, brought it back up released it to try it again. So it
was a "hang" test and a "bubble in bubble" test.
In many small plastic containers with lids I mixed up these
various concoctions in one night. Tested them all for the
first time that night and each of two consecutive nights,
and recorded these results:
Mix 1. 1 cup
water (tap), 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon detergent (Joy
non ultra), 3 teaspoons expensive glycerine. First
thoughts: Light, could double bubble once but brittle soon
after. Added another teaspoon glycerine. Hang test: 2:48.
Clean pop. No residue, or what I would later call "beard".
At 24 hours, could double bubble easily, not so brittle.
2:04 on hang test. Added 1 teaspoon each glycerine &
detergent. 48 hour test: 3:45 on hang test. Could double
bubble.
Mix 2. 1 cup
water (tap), 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon detergent (Joy
non ultra), 3 teaspoons of cheap glycerine. Light. Could
almost double bubble. More brittle than #1. Hang test 2:26.
No beard. 24 hours: 2:04 hang test, no double bubble. Added
1 teaspoon each cheap glycerine and detergent. Still
brittle. 48 hours: 3:30. No double bubble.
Mix 3. 1 cup
water (tap), 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon detergent (Joy
non ultra), 1 tablespoon Equate. Medium heavy feel, clear.
could double bubble 8x. Hang time:2:52. 24 hours: could
still double bubble very well. Hang time 1:16. Added 1.5
teaspoon cheap glycerine. No instant change. Added 1
teaspoon detergent. Hang test 1:45.
Mix 4. 1 cup
water (tap), 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon detergent (Joy
non ultra), 1 tbl brooks jelly (very similar to Equate)
More brittle than #3. Could double bubble some. Hang test
2:05. 24 hours: Very excited. Good colors and durable. Hang
test 1:22. Added 1/2 teaspoon cheap glycerine to retard
evaporation-boosted hang time by over 10 seconds. 48 hours:
added 1/2 teaspooon Brooks Jelly. Hang test 1:35.
Mix 5. 1 cup
water (tap), 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon detergent (Joy
non ultra), 1 tablespoon KY jelly. Medium heavy feel.
Double bubble 10 times. Seems to hold interior floating
bubbles better than others. Hang test 2:26. Popped with
beard. 24 hours: Heavy and durable. Hang test 1:29. Added
1/5 teaspoon expensive glycerine. 48 Hours: still happy.
Hang test 1:45 - longer than other jellies, shorter than
just glycerine, much more able to double bubble than
glycerin recipes.
Mix 6. 1 cup
water (tap), 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon detergent (Joy
non ultra), 1 tablespoon Astro glide gel. Heavy nice color,
could double bubble 10x, doesn't hold interior bubbles as
well as mix 5. Popped with beard at 1:55. 24 hours: Not as
heavy as mix 5, very durable, a bit more brittle but better
looking colors. hang test 1:23. Added 1/2 teaspoon
expensive glycerine. 48 hours: 1:45 hang test, plays about
the same as mix 5.
Fan Yang #1.
hang test 2:46. Clear and smells of dishwashing soap. could
double bubble 6x. 24 hour hang test: 2:48 died with beard.
48 hour hang test: 2:40.
Fan Yang #2.
Hang test 1:18. Smells of baby powder and is milkier
looking than fan yang #1. 24 hours: 1:00. Is it Pustefix?
48 Hours: :55 seconds.
special mixes...
Mix # 7. 1/3
each Miracle bubbles, water, cheap glycerine. Gooey, could
not double bubble. Too thick. Hard to blow bubble but it
lasted a long time in hang test. 3:51. Died with small
beard. 24 hours: could not make bubble. Added 1 tbl. joy
detergent and could double bubble immediately and made it
fun to play with. Died with beard at 12:00!, Added another
tablespoon of joy. Hang test 22:30! 48 hours: 2:56 hang
test. This one lived the longest. Did die with beard.
Mix #8. 1
cup of boiled flax seed water (see Bubbletown site), 1
tablespoon and one teaspoon Joy, 2 teaspoons cheap
glycerine. Because the flax water is so viscous, it's
syrupy, could double bubble 3x, it's makes great looking
bubbles as the walls are so thick. Hang test 5:28, died
with beard. 24 Hours: Much more brittle. hang test 1:44. So
I added 1 teaspoon joy which once again restored it's
elasticity and I could double bubble. 48 hours: still very
syrupy. Added 2 tbs water and 1 tbs joy. Not so much
improvement. hang test 1:45.
Mix #9. 1
cup flax seed water, 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon Joy. 1
Tablespoon Astroglide. Thick. Could double bubble easier
than #8. Sticky and beard when pops. Hang test 2:12. 24
Hours: Same. Hang test 1:30. Added 1/2 teaspoon expensive
glycerine to extend time. Didn't work. 48 Hours: hang test
1:30.
Mix #10. 1
Cup Mr. Bubbles. 1 tablespoon KY. Best of the special
solutions. A bit brittle, good colors, holds interior
bubbles well, double bubble 8x. hang test 1:55, died with
beard. 24 hours: very brittle so I added 1 teaspoon Joy,
much less brittle now, so I added 1 teaspoon more Joy. Now
water seems to run out of it in a stream down sides. Might
need time to incorporate the ingredients. Hang test :57. 48
hours: No change.
With these tests I learned how to observe the bubbles and
started to take guesses at what the different amendments
might do for the juices, to improve their performance. The
personal lubricants surprised me and I went on to work more
with them in the mix. I learned that adding just a bit more
soap can make a big difference in the qualities of bubbles.
I was surprised by that mix number 7 when it jumped from a
hang test time of 12:00 to 22:30 with just a tablespoon of
Joy and 24 hours making the difference.
I was left wondering if glycerine is an anti evaporation
agent, what was it about the expensive glycerine that made
it better for the mix? Head to head, the expensive
vegetable grade glycerine out performed the cheap glycerine
measurably in both longevity and skin elasticity. It was
true each time I tested here and when I repeated the tests
later in more sophisticated brews.
The personal lubricants I was assuming would simply be
another way of introducing glycerine and greater viscosity.
Much more than that happened. On closer examination of the
lubes, Equate and Brooks Gels had similar ingredient lists
which differed from KY and Astroglide Gels which had nearly
identical ingredients. There will be more about this in the
bubble juice cookbook pages but the gels added a huge
double bubble advantage/potential. And although in these
tests the KY/Astroglide pair made the bubble skin slightly
more supple than the Brooks/Equate pair, I liked Equate the
best of them all because it left less of a messy beard at
pop time.
I learned that the lube which added flexibility/elasticity
also adds weight to the bubble. This would certainly be a
factor when deciding which mix to use when making bubble
chains for instance. The added weight would pull them apart
while a straight glycerine blend would be lighter for
longer chains/caterpillers. However, bubbles blown into
bubbles floating in the air would be easier to do with the
more flexible skin and greater mass/weight of a lube based
mix.
In the end I was still up in the air about the role of
detergent beyond allowing water to form a film. Why did
dish detergent play such an enormous role in allowing mix
number seven to increase the hang time? Was it simply
reducing the surface tension or did it also delay
evaporation? Too much detergent adversely effected mix
number 8 at the 48 hour mark.
With these few tests under my belt, it was time to go back
to the internet and look at the different bubbler's sites
to examine the kinds of work they were doing and the
recipes they were recommending.
FYI: The
Bubbletown website mentions boiled linseed oil to increase
viscosity. After some research and trial and error I found
linseed is also flax seed which is available in health food
stores. I used a closely woven mesh bag (the kind you use
to wash delicate items in the laundry) into which I put a
tablespoon of flax seed. I got a pot of water (4 cups)
boiling on the stove and set the bag in to boil until the
color of the water was amber. I took the pot off the heat.
I squeezed the jellied goop out of the bag, through the
holes but the physical seed remained inside, strained from
the broth. When the flax seed water cooled , it was indeed
like a mucus substance. After much experimentation with
this flax seed broth, (diluting it, using it straight up,
boiling it for shorter and longer durations) it still did
not compare with personal lubricants as a way of altering
viscosity and elasticity of the mixes I tried. Perhaps
you'll get lucky with flax seed. I certainly wanted to. It
was way cheaper and seemed to offer much promise but it
didn't pan out for me. Too bad. Also, I think because this
is unprocessed oil, the brews over time might go rancid.
Let me know if you ever make this thickener work.
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