From droplets to multilayer antibubbles: formation and stability

An antibubble is a peculiar structure in which a liquid droplet is separated from another liquid by a thin, nearly spherical gas shell. Such structures can be generated using an intermediate soap film. If a droplet crosses the film with the right velocity, it becomes wrapped, forming a packed droplet. When this packed droplet impacts a bath of soapy solution at an appropriate velocity, its outer soap layer merges with the bath, releasing an antibubble. By using multiple soap films, it is possible to create multi-packed droplets, and thus multilayer antibubbles. In this talk, we present a study of antibubble formation using the soap-film method. We measure the probability of generating both simple and multi-packed droplets and antibubbles, and investigate how viscosity influences these probabilities. Finally, we create multilayer antibubbles, compare their lifetimes with those of simple antibubbles, and discuss the mechanisms responsible for their destabilization.