Soap-Bubbles and the Forces Which Mould Them — John Shaqi
Soap-Bubbles and the Forces Which Mould ThemBoys, C. V. (Charles Vernon)
Science
Soap-Bubbles and the Forces Which Mould Them
Boys, C. V. (Charles Vernon)
Bubbles; Capillarity; Surface tension
There is only one thing needed to make the demonstration of the
behaviour of a musical jet complete, and that is, that you should
yourselves see these drops in their different positions in an actual
fountain of water. Now if I were to produce a powerful electric spark,
then it is true that some of you might for an instant catch sight of the
drops, but I do not think that most would see anything at all. But if,
instead of making merely one flash, I were to make another when each
drop had just travelled to the position which the one in front of it
occupied before, and then another when each drop had moved on one place
again, and so on, then all the drops, at the moments that the flashes of
light fell upon them, would occupy the same positions, and thus all
these drops would appear fixed in the air, though of course they really
are travelling fast enough. If, however, I do not quite succeed in
keeping exact time with my flashes of light, then a curious appearance
will be produced. Suppose, for instance, that the flashes of light
follow one another rather too quickly, then each drop will not have had
quite time enough to get to its proper place at each flash, and thus at
the second flash all the drops will be seen in positions which are just
behind those which they occupied at the first flash, and in the same
way at the third flash they will be seen still further behind their
former places, and so on, and therefore they will appear to be moving
slowly backwards; whereas if my flashes do not follow quite quickly
enough, then the drops will, every time that there is a flash, have
travelled just a little too far, and so they will all appear to be
moving slowly forwards. Now let us try the experiment. There is the
electric lantern sending a powerful beam of light on to the screen. This
I bring to a focus with a lens, and then let it pass through a small
hole in a piece of card. The light then spreads out and falls upon the
screen. The fountain of water is between the card and the screen, and so
a shadow is cast which is conspicuous enough. Now I place just behind
the card a little electric motor, which will make a disc of card which
has six holes near the edge spin round very fast. The holes come one
after the other opposite the hole in the fixed card, and so at every
turn six flashes of light are produced. When the card is turning about
21-1/2 times a second, then the flashes will follow one another at the
right rate. I have now started the motor, and after a moment or two I
shall have obtained the right speed, and this I know by blowing through
the holes, when a musical note will be produced, higher than the fork if
the speed is too high, and lower than the fork if the speed is too low,
and exactly the same as the fork if it is right.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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