Immobilization of a bubble in water by nanoelectrolysis

Abstract: A surprising phenomenon is presented: a bubble, produced from water electrolysis, is immobilized in the liquid (as if the Archimedes' buoyant force were annihilated). This is achieved using a nanoelectrode (1 nm to 1 $\mu$m of curvature radius at the apex) and an alternating electric potential with adapted values of amplitude and frequency. A simple model based on "nanoelectrolysis" (i.e., nanolocalization of the production of H2 and O2 molecules at the apex of the nanoelectrode) and an "open bubble" (i.e., exchanging H2 and O2 molecules with the solution) explains most of the observations.