Bubble Time

A pyrotechnic creation by Daniel Brenza
 
 

I began this project originally intending to create a bubble light enough to float freely and also strong enough to hold fire.  This proved to be devastatingly impossible.  So I abandoned the idea of a mystic fire bubble for something a little more practical eventually experimenting with hydrogen.  With the help of the Internet, I learned you could make hydrogen gas by combining sodium hydroxide with aluminum.  I combined them in a glass bottle and put the bottle in a bucket of water to control the heat.  I then ran the gas by through a tube into a bubble solution consisting of distilled water, Dawn liquid dish soap, and a small amount of Karo corn sugar syrup.  The solution is contained in a two-liter plastic bottle to allow the bubbles to separate from the group into small clusters.  Since the bubbles are full of hydrogen they will float up into the air.  At this point I would light the clusters of bubbles with a grill lighter causing the bubbles to explode in a flash of fire and excitement.  But the fun didn’t stop there.  I wanted a bigger, better, and larger bubble than I could produce with just soap and water.  Instead of filtering through a bubble solution, I ran the hydrogen gas through plain water to condense any vapor still with the hydrogen.  But this time I attached a balloon to the top of the plastic bottle in order to collect the gas.  After it was full, I would tie it to a string to give myself some distance and light it with the lighter.  Success…bigger, louder and a lot more fun.