Eur. Phys. J. E (2021) 44: 52
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/s10189-021-00054-5

Tips and Tricks - Soft Matter

A new setup for giant soap films characterization

Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Laboratoire de physique des solides, 91405, Orsay, France

^a sandrine.mariot@universite-paris-saclay.fr

Received: 21 December 2020
Accepted: 13 March 2021
Published online: 15 April 2021

Abstract

Artists, using empirical knowledge, manage to generate and play with giant soap films and bubbles. Until now, scientific studies of soap films generated at a controlled velocity and without any feeding from the top, studied films of a few square centimeters. The present work aims to present a new setup to generate and characterize giant soap films (2 m 0.7 m). Our setup is enclosed in a humidity-controlled box of 2.2 m high, 1 m long, and 0.75 m large. Soap films are entrained by a fishing line withdrawn out of a bubbling solution at various velocities. We measure the maximum height of the generated soap films, as well as their lifetime, thanks to automatic detection. This is allowed by light-sensitive resistors collecting the light reflected on the soap films and ensures robust statistical measurements. In the meantime, thickness measurements are performed with a UV–VIS-spectrometer, allowing us to map the soap film’s thickness over time.