Bubble Chandeliers

Abstract: When a drop impacts at very low velocity onto a pool surface it is cushioned by a thin layer of air, which can be stretched into a hemispheric shape. We use ultra-high-speed video imaging to show how this thin air-layer ruptures. The number and locations of these ruptures determines the morphology of the resulting myriad of micro-bubbles. This fluid dynamics video is submitted to the APS DFD Gallery of Fluid Motion 2012, part of the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics (18-20 November, San Diego, CA, USA).