The conversation on my drive to work yesterday was a local radio version of Myth Busters. Apparently there was some doubt as to whether or not it is true that bubbles, when blown outdoors at temperatures of -30 degrees or less, will not break. The bubbles in question are the ordinary sort of bubbles that children used to blow through little plastic rings that they would dip in small jars of bubble solution.
As an aside, I say "used to" because the last foray I had into bubble creation involved a collection of high-tech gadgets which blow bubbles by the hundreds through the use of assorted pumps, hoses, fans, and other pneumatic innovations. Q could be proud of some of these. I take from this experience that today's children wouldn't know how to blow their own bubble if they needed to.
Which brings me back to our myth. The notion is that bubbles blown at extremely cold temperatures don't break, as per usual bubble behavior, but rather hold their shape. By the time I arrived at the office, several hardy North Dakotans had dug through their summer lake kits and trudged outside (wind chill -49 degrees), bubble makers in hand, to test the hypothesis. And what do you know? The bubbles floated timidly to the earth and just sat there like so many crystal balls. Considering that all atomic motion ceases somewhere near yesterday's temperatures, I suppose this isn't all that suprising to physicists, but it provided a morning of entertainment to we hardy souls in the nation's icebox. You just don't get that in Florida.
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