California Institute of Technology engineers created a captivating simulation to explore the physics behind the bubble ring phenomenon. No bubble trouble here!
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00:04 Have you ever seen scuba divers make these mesmerizing underwater bubble rings?
00:09 Caltech engineers led by Peter Schroeder created a simulation to find the forces behind the phenomenon.
00:16 A bubble ring is an underwater vortex created by someone blowing out air at least five feet
00:21 underwater while facing the surface. Usually bubbles break apart, but if the conditions
00:26 are just right, it'll turn into a swirling donut. The bubble of air needs to be big enough with
00:32 water pressure greater at the bottom than at the top. The pressure pushes the air up faster,
00:36 squeezing the bubble and punching a hole through the middle. Water circles down and around the air,
00:41 creating the vortex ring. Caltech researchers simulated two rings merging and separating
00:46 to help them understand how the sun's solar flares work. That's because solar flares twist
00:52 and turn into themselves, much like when two bubble rings meet. The team is presenting their
00:58 findings at the International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques.
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