Why can bubble solutions create bubbles that last and float but water can’t?

Question

Why can bubble solutions create bubbles that last and float but water can’t?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

Because the soap solution changes the surface tension. The bubble solution is more attracted to itself than the air it floats in, so it becomes kind of cohesive to itself.

Water could make bubbles, or ‘bubble like’ forms if there’s a large enough surface tension difference. There’s a similarity with water beading on a waxed car, for example.

This ‘bubbles-as-surface-tension-thing’ is how moonshiners used to proof alcohol. Put the moonshine in a jar, give it good shake and see how many bubbles form and how long they last.