Freezing soap bubbles during Maryland’s cold spell
Baltimore Sun photographer Karl Merton Ferron took advantage of the slightly-warmer-but-still-chilly polar vortex weather to test a cold-weather experiment: freezing soap bubbles.
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- Soap bubbles freeze under chilly conditions early morning Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. The bubbles can be made at home using ingredients typically found in the kitchen. Ice crystals slowly formed within the soap bubbles as they flew, but we later learned that a plastic trash can cover did a good job allowing the bubbles to freeze. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun Staff)
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- Ice crystals make for a crusty filling in a manhole cover. Temperatures in the Baltimore area Wednesday morning hovered below 20 degrees. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun Photo)
Ferron mixed together 1 1/2 ounces water, 1/2 ounce dishwashing liquid (he used Dawn) and 1/4 ounce honey to create a bubble solution. Hexagonal and star-like ice crystals slowly formed within the bubbles as they flew, so Ferron used a bubble wand to catch them and photograph their transformation. Later, he found out a plastic trashcan cover did a good job of allowing the bubbles to freeze.
(In case you want to try this at home the next time the temperature dips: The original “recipe” Ferron found called for 3 cups water, 1 cup dishwashing liquid and 1/2 cup white corn syrup.)
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