Zubbles
Encyclopedia
Zubbles is a commercial name for colored soap bubble
s. Zubbles claim to fame is that they are the first colored soap bubbles that do not leave stains. Instead they fade away with exposure to air, pressure, and water.
Popular Science
named Zubbles the "Innovation of the Year" for 2005. Reader's Digest
agreed, saying they were one of the "Best Innovations" of the year in 2006.
, a toy creator from St. Paul, Minnesota. After an unexplained breakthrough in his kitchen, he was able to produce blue bubbles, that, unsuitably for a toy, stained clothing. After an eight-year long delay in developing the idea further, he recommenced his investigations after forming a new toy company.
In the process of trying to rediscover the recipe, he changed the formula, making the coloring water soluble. However, having to wash off the color from the bubbles rendered them unsuited to a mass-market toy. Kehoe hired the dye chemist Ram Sabnis, who arrived at a formula where the color would disappear on its own, with sufficient exposure to air, and without washing or staining.
The company entered into a global license agreement with Spin Master Ltd. for Zubbles Colored Bubbles in December 2005. Despite announcements of expected release dates, Spin Master dropped plans for commercial production due to complexities in the manufacturing process.http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-06/exclusive-colored-bubbles-have-landed-and-popped-and-vanished
In 2008, the company reached a licensing agreement with a new toy company called Jamm Company. Zubbles commenced commercial sales in June 2009 http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/07/10/colored-bubbles.html.
s. The purple bubble uses a chemical called crystal violet lactone
. After the bubbles pop, the color disappears with friction, water or exposure to air.
In a normal soap bubble, surfactants reduce the surface tension of the water and allow the bubble to form. To create a colored bubble, dye molecules must bond to the surfactants. Each dye molecule in Zubbles is a structure known as a lactone
ring. When the ring is closed, the molecule absorbs all visible light except for the color of the bubble. However, subjecting the lactone ring to air, water or pressure, causes the ring to open. This changes the molecule's structure to a straight chain which absorbs no visible light.
Lactone rings can be produced whenever a long chain molecule contains acid
functionality on one end, and alcohol
functionality at the other. The two ends of the molecule react in a condensation reaction, ejecting a water molecule. To drive the reaction back towards the long chain, pressure, heat or an excess of water must be added.
Soap bubble
A soap bubble is a thin film of soapy water enclosing air, that forms a hollow sphere with an iridescent surface. Soap bubbles usually last for only a few seconds before bursting, either on their own or on contact with another object. They are often used for children's enjoyment, but they are also...
s. Zubbles claim to fame is that they are the first colored soap bubbles that do not leave stains. Instead they fade away with exposure to air, pressure, and water.
Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
named Zubbles the "Innovation of the Year" for 2005. Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
agreed, saying they were one of the "Best Innovations" of the year in 2006.
Development
Zubbles were invented by Tim KehoeTim Kehoe
Tim Kehoe is an author and toy inventor from St. Paul, Minnesota, who, though having invented numerous toys, is perhaps best known for his work to invent colored bubbles that do not stain, known as Zubbles...
, a toy creator from St. Paul, Minnesota. After an unexplained breakthrough in his kitchen, he was able to produce blue bubbles, that, unsuitably for a toy, stained clothing. After an eight-year long delay in developing the idea further, he recommenced his investigations after forming a new toy company.
In the process of trying to rediscover the recipe, he changed the formula, making the coloring water soluble. However, having to wash off the color from the bubbles rendered them unsuited to a mass-market toy. Kehoe hired the dye chemist Ram Sabnis, who arrived at a formula where the color would disappear on its own, with sufficient exposure to air, and without washing or staining.
The company entered into a global license agreement with Spin Master Ltd. for Zubbles Colored Bubbles in December 2005. Despite announcements of expected release dates, Spin Master dropped plans for commercial production due to complexities in the manufacturing process.http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-06/exclusive-colored-bubbles-have-landed-and-popped-and-vanished
In 2008, the company reached a licensing agreement with a new toy company called Jamm Company. Zubbles commenced commercial sales in June 2009 http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/07/10/colored-bubbles.html.
How they work
The solution uses special dyes called leuco dyeLeuco dye
A leuco dye is a dye whose molecules can acquire two forms, one of which is colorless.For example, the spiro form of an oxazine is a colorless leuco dye; the conjugated system of the oxazine and another aromatic part of the molecule is separated by an sp3-hybridized "spiro" carbon...
s. The purple bubble uses a chemical called crystal violet lactone
Crystal violet lactone
Crystal violet lactone is a leuco dye, a lactone derivate of crystal violet 10B. In pure state it is a slightly yellowish crystalline powder, soluble in nonpolar or slightly polar organic solvents....
. After the bubbles pop, the color disappears with friction, water or exposure to air.
In a normal soap bubble, surfactants reduce the surface tension of the water and allow the bubble to form. To create a colored bubble, dye molecules must bond to the surfactants. Each dye molecule in Zubbles is a structure known as a lactone
Lactone
In chemistry, a lactone is a cyclic ester which can be seen as the condensation product of an alcohol group -OH and a carboxylic acid group -COOH in the same molecule...
ring. When the ring is closed, the molecule absorbs all visible light except for the color of the bubble. However, subjecting the lactone ring to air, water or pressure, causes the ring to open. This changes the molecule's structure to a straight chain which absorbs no visible light.
Lactone rings can be produced whenever a long chain molecule contains acid
Carboxylic acid
Carboxylic acids are organic acids characterized by the presence of at least one carboxyl group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is R-COOH, where R is some monovalent functional group...
functionality on one end, and alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
functionality at the other. The two ends of the molecule react in a condensation reaction, ejecting a water molecule. To drive the reaction back towards the long chain, pressure, heat or an excess of water must be added.