Arts and Leisure Business and Finance Garden and Nature Government and Politics Home and Family Science and Technology Sports Rubber Stamps Nancisceris Internet Directory Getting Married? Check out our FREE online Wedding Planner. Job Stress? Cincinnati New Homes Sergio Lub Copper Bracelets ListMom Domain Name Registration Tell a friend about our site.		Bubbles First published online on 2004 December 31. “Now. Tommie, what will you do while I write letters this morning?” “Blow soap bubbles, Mamma, please,” and Tommie jumped up and down, clapping his hands for pleasure. “Well, run and get me your pipe and bowl and I will mix you some suds.” The soap-suds were soon ready, and Tommie took his favorite position on the broad window-sill with the bowl in his lap. Mamma, writing in the next room, could hear the Oh’s and squeals of delight, as the bubbles grew larger and rounder. “Why is Tommie in all the bubbles?” asked the little boy at last. “Because”, said Mamma, “the bubbles are like a mirror, and when my little boy is near enough to look at them, he will be reflected in them, just the same as when he looks in Mamma’s long mirror.” “But the mirror doesn’t break like the bubbles,” said Tommie. “Where do they go when they break, Mamma?” “They evaporate, dear; that is a big word for my little boy. Spell it after Mamma and then perhaps you will remember. E-v-a-p-o-r-a-t-e evaporate.” “What does evaporate mean,” asked Tommie bringing out the long word with a jerk. “Do you remember, dear,” answered Mamma, “that early in the morning when the grass is all wet with dew, my little boy cannot run in it without his rubbers? But before long it is all dry and then my little boy takes off his rubbers and does not get his feet wet. The sun and the air absorb or suck up the water and carry it off to their homes. Now, the bubbles are made of a little water and a little air. The water is on the end of the pipe, and Tommie blows the air into the pipe, and the bubble grows big and round. When it breaks, the air sucks up the water, which was the outside of the bubble, and the air which was inside mixes with the air in the room.” “Now do you suppose you can tell Papa all about it, when he comes home to dinner?” asked Mamma. “Of course I can,” said Tommie, proudly. “Haven’t you just told me all about it?” Though you can buy bubble solution at a store, it’s more fun to make your own, as Tommie’s mother did! Then have fun performing a bubble experiment. First ask your mother or another adult to supervise you and to open the can for you. Please be sure to ask an adult to open the can for you. What you will need: 8 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid 1 quart water 1 drinking straw A shallow tray 1 aluminum can (such as a small can of soup) that an adult cut open at both ends A journal for writing down your results What to do: 1. Mix the dishwashing liquid with the water. Fill the shallow tray. 2. Blow through your straw and move the straw slowly across the surface of the solution. How big are the bubbles you get? 3. Do you want to make a really big bubble? Then try this. Dip one end of the straw into the sudsy solution. Hold the straw slightly above the surface of the solution. Blow into it very gently. Keep trying this until you make a really big bubble. 4. Wet your finger. Now touch the big bubble with it. What happens? 5. Make another big bubble. Make sure your finger is dry. Touch the bubble with your dry finger. What happens? 6. Try making bubbles with an aluminum can that an adult opened for you at both ends. Be careful when you touch the can so you don’t cut yourself. Dip the can into the soapy solution and then pull it out. You should get a soap film that stretches across one end. Blow gently on the other end, and you will form a bubble. Want to make an even bigger bubble? Use something bigger such as a coffee can. 7. Have fun making a lot of bubbles. Look closely at each bubble. How many colors can you see? Do the colors change? What happened: Bubbles are bits of air or gas trapped inside a liquid ball. The surface of a bubble is very thin. Bubbles are fragile when a dry object touches them. That’s because soap film tends to stick to the dry object. This puts a strain on the bubble. If you want your bubbles to last longer, keep everything wet, even the sides of the straw. (The above experiment is based upon information from the U.S. Department of Education at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Science/bubbles.html ) This story contains the unabridged and unaltered text of and modified illustration from “Bubbles” from Who Killed Cock-Robin and Other Stories, published in 1905 by Henry Altemus Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; with additional new text by Anne Verville. Spanish translation by Lyssette Rivera Cripps. Spanish translation and new material Copyright 2004 by Canville Communications. Download this article as a PDF Please Share This Story Login with your Canville account to leave a comment. Return to Previous Page. Return to Home Page		Rubber Stamps You can save a lot of time by using rubber stamps! Think of all the repetitive writing you do in a typical day–much of which can be replaced with rubber stamps. Click here to visit the site. Canville Virtual Village Under Reconstruction... There was a time when the streets were alive with the sounds of children playing, friends gathering, and adults conversing. When the heat of summer met its match in an ice cream bar delivered by the friendly chap in the neighborhood ice cream truck. Or, a rubbery hose would refresh children with the spraying of water into the air. Oh, how times have changed. Where go the little children now? Where now gather the teens? Where chatter away the adults all afternoon? And, alas, what has become of the lonesome ice cream man? In today’s fast-paced world, where many suffer from information overload, we offer a retreat from the headaches of the computerized world in our own Suburbs of the Information Superhighway, Canville Virtual Village. Click here to visit the site.