Northwest A&F University Team Creates Longest-Lived Bubble on Earth,Setting a Guinness World Record
Xi’an, China – A research teamfrom Northwest A&F University (NWAFU) has achieved a groundbreaking feat, creating the longest-lived bubble on earth and securing a Guinness WorldRecord. Led by Professor Zang Duoyang, the team successfully produced a bubble that remained stable for an astonishing 23 minutes and 36 seconds under acousticlevitation conditions. This remarkable achievement was published in the prestigious international journal Droplet and highlighted in Nature.
The team’s research delves into the unique properties of bubbles, particularly their interface physics, chemistry, and dynamic behavior.Bubbles offer a unique platform for various physical and chemical processes, making them valuable in fields like material engineering, fluid physics, life sciences, and environmental science. However, bubbles are inherently unstable due to gravity-induced drainage and their large surface area.
Professor Zang’s team meticulously investigated the factors contributing to the exceptional stability of acoustically levitated bubbles. Their findings revealed that the acoustic radiation force acting on both the inner and outer surfaces of the bubble significantly suppressed drainage caused by gravity. This breakthrough allows for the creation of bubbles that remain stable for extended periods,even surpassing the stability achieved in microgravity environments like the International Space Station.
The research team demonstrated that under acoustic levitation conditions, the stability of bubbles is significantly enhanced by using the acoustic cavity resonance mechanism. This method allows bubbles to persist for over 15 minutes in an ultrasonic environment. Notably, even pure water bubbles, without any stabilizing surfactants, can remain stable for over 7 minutes, a two-order-of-magnitude improvement over conventional bubbles.
Furthermore, the team’s experiments proved that these bubbles can withstand external disturbances like needle punctures while maintaining their stability due to the stabilizing effect of the acoustic field. The acoustic radiation pressure distribution,created by the standing wave sound field, balances the liquid gravity, enabling stable levitation. Additionally, this pressure distribution exerts a compression force on the bubble membrane, counteracting hydrostatic pressure and inhibiting drainage. The distribution of acoustic radiation pressure can be adjusted by altering the sound field intensity, allowing for the creation of various shapes ofacoustically levitated bubbles.
Guided by these findings, Professor Zang’s team produced the longest-lived bubble on earth, achieving a Guinness World Record. This remarkable achievement opens up new possibilities for scientific research and industrial applications.
Potential Applications of the Superstable Bubbles:
- Surface Tension and Rheological Property Measurement: The superstable bubbles can be used to accurately measure the surface tension and rheological properties of liquids.
- Aerosol Collection and Analysis: These bubbles can serve as liquid-based materials for collecting and analyzing aerosol particles.
- Bio/Chemical Reactors: The stable bubbles can be utilizedas ideal bio/chemical reactors for various reactions and processes.
The team’s groundbreaking work has provided a novel method for stabilizing bubbles using acoustic levitation, paving the way for further exploration and advancements in various scientific and industrial fields. This achievement marks a significant step forward in understanding and manipulating the behavior of bubbles, offeringexciting possibilities for future research and innovation.
References:
- Zang, D., et al. (2023). Extraordinary stability of surfactant-free bubbles suspended in ultrasound. Droplet, 14(1), 1-10.
- Nature. (2023). Nature, 619(7968), 297.
Views: 0