Why are there bubbles when we lather soap? Why do the bubbles get bigger when a small amount of water is added?
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All fluids have a property called “Surface Tension”, which is the measurement of how much the fluid particles hold onto each other. Water doesn’t have a super high surface tension, but it has a decent amount. This is why a leaf will float on top of water, it weighs so little and spreads that weight out over such a large area, that it can’t break the surface tension and “fall through” into the water.
Soap contains chemicals that increase the surface tension of water a great deal so now the water molecules really really really like sticking together. They stick together so much so that rather than let air travel through it, it’ll form a thin film of water/soap that traps the air inside the water like a balloon. The more soap, the greater the surface tension, the larger the bubble can be.
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