What are we seeing?

Asked by Ltryptophan (12091

) May 1st, 2010

When an air bubble floats to the surface of the water, it is bright and has a darker bottom with a tiny hint of light at the top. Since the air in the bubble is invisible, what then are we seeing when the bubble is floating? The surface tension of the water against the air? Are water bubbles just the water, rather than the air travelling through the water.

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5 Answers

It’s the water.

Draconess25 (4461

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The surface of the bubble is acting like a mirror, so you are seeing a image of whatever is at a certain angle between your eye and the bubble surface.

stranger_in_a_strange_land (18360

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Air in the water is basically displacing the water, the same way a boat displaces the water. It is displaced for the amount of space required for that air to occupy. If a boat could be invisible you would be able to see the displaced water as a depression on the surface. And as @stranger_in_a_strange_land states, the surface of the bubble reflects outward, and the difference in molecular structure of the two elements are what enables the air to remain a “solid” until it reaches the surface where it disperses.

Trillian (21148

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