Soap Bubbles
and the Forces which Mould Them

loo SOAP-BUBBLES, AND so large. This experiment and its explanation are due to Lord Rayleigh. The smoky flame, as lately shown by Mr. Bidwell, does the same thing. The reason probably is that the dirt breaks through the air-film, just as dust in the air will make the two fountains join as they did when they were electrified. However, it is possible that oily matter condensed on the water may have some- thing to do with the effect observed, because oil alone acts quite as well as a flame, but the action of oil in this case, as when it smooths a stormy sea, is not by any means so easily understood. When I held the sealing-wax closer, the drops coalesced in the same way; but they were then so much more electrified that they repelled one another as similarly electrified bodies are known to do, and so the electrical scattering was produced. You possibly already see why the tuning- fork made the drops follow in one line, but I shall explain. A musical note is, as is well known, caused by a rapid vibration; the more rapid the vibration the higher is the pitch of the note. For instance, I have a tooth-wheel