And now it's time for Who's Smarted.
Psst. Hey, smarty pants, you'll never believe where I am right now.
I'm in a giant sports arena for Bubble Mania, the biggest bubble blowing event of the year.
If you think the WWE's WrestleMania is big, the WWE's Bubble Mania blows it away, literally.
And we're just in time for the main event.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and boys and girls from around the world.
It's time for our main event, the title bout to decide the heavyweight bubble blowing championship of the world.
Oh, yeah. In the foamy corner, we have our challenger, the Sultan of Suds, the sparkling, the frothy, the fizz.
Wow, he looks even fizzier in person.
And in the soapy corner, the reigning heavyweight champion, the King of Carbonation, the bouncy, the buoyant, the Big Poppers.
Let's get ready to bubble!
Oh boy, oh boy. The fizz versus the Big Copper to decide the heavyweight bubble blowing champion of the world.
What a matchup. I can't wait to see who wins.
I don't mean to burst your bubble, trusty, but the match is rigged.
Rigged? Nobody knows bubble you, bubble you, B events aren't real.
Right, of course. I knew that.
And you are? Bartholomew Gortmandiosius.
B .G. for short. My friends call me Bubble Guy.
I see. So tell me, Bubble Guy, if the Bubble Mania winner is predetermined, why watch the match at all?
For the drama and athleticism, not to mention the pure majesty of the bubbles.
Good point. Bubbles are pretty spectacular.
Spectacular? These fragile, floating, iridescent spheres?
Why they're extraordinary.
Smarty pants, have you ever wondered what bubbles are?
How they form? And for that matter, how they float?
Or how bubbles change the way fizzy drinks taste?
It's time for another whiff of science and history on...
Who smarted? Who smarted?
Who smart? Is it you?
Is it me? Is it science?
Or history? Listen up!
Everyone, we make smarting lots of fun on who's smarted.
So, Bubble Guy, I assume you're called that because you know a lot about bubbles?
Let's find out. Go ahead, ask me anything about bubbles.
Anything. Okay, let's start at the beginning.
What exactly are bubbles?
Physical phenomena of infinite intrigue.
Um, I mean, it's more like how would you define bubbles?
Oh, sorry. When it comes to bubbles, I get a little carried away.
Just like a bubble.
Right. So you do know the answer?
You're not just stalling?
Of course not. Bubbles are defined by their type, of which there are two.
Aha! Smarty pants, now we're getting somewhere.
But first, a tricky question.
Do you know which of these is not a type of bubble?
Is it a ball of gas that appears within a liquid?
A ball of gas that appears within a solid?
Or a ball of air that's surrounded by liquid and floats?
If you said a ball of gas that appears in a solid, well done.
That is technically not a bubble.
That's a balloon. Well said, Trusty, and this common misconception is furthered by the ever -popular bubble gum, which by definition should be called balloon gum.
Great point. When you chew gum and blow a bubble, a ball of air, or gas, appears in a solid, the gum.
So despite names like Bubblicious, Bubble Yum, and Hubba Bubba, bubble gum is not bubbles.
I've been lobbying for years to change this terrible inaccuracy, but Congress is clearly in the pocket of big gum.
Talk about fake chews.
And getting back to the two types of bubbles.
Right. The first is a ball of gas that appears in a liquid, like carbonation in soda.
Or when you blow air bubbles in your chocolate milk.
The second is a ball of air that's surrounded by liquid and floats, like soap bubbles you blow from a bubble wand.
What about soapy bubbles in a bubble bath?
They don't all float in the air.
Good question. And there's a scientific reason for that.
Let's see if the smarty pants can figure it out.
Hey smarties, why don't all soap bubbles float in the air?
Is it because, like birds, not all soap bubbles can fly?
Because some soap bubbles are afraid of heights.
Or because of the surface tension of water.
If you said, because some soap bubbles are afraid of heights...
Sorry, that's incorrect.
As far as we know, bubbles cannot exhibit emotions like fear.
But they can inspire emotions like wonder, awe, amazement.
If you said, because, like birds, not all soap bubbles can fly, I'm afraid that's also incorrect.
All soap bubbles can fly or float in the air.
If it weren't for, the surface tension of water.
Which is the correct answer.
Kinda. Kinda? The surface tension of water, or H2O, is caused by the attraction of negatively charged hydrogen and positively charged oxygen.
This attraction pulls the soap bubbles on the surface of your bubble bath downwards towards the bathwater.
However, soap also reduces water's surface tension, which is what allows bubbles to form in the first place.
Ah, that's why you can't blow bubbles made with only water and not soap.
Right. At least bubbles that float through the air.
Smarty piss. True or false?
Without outside interference, a floating soap bubble would be a perfect sphere.
If you said true, you're right.
The surface tension of water creates a form with the least possible surface by volume, which is a sphere.
And in case you're wondering, a sphere is a perfectly round object.
But wait, how do bubbles float?
Soap may reduce the water's surface tension, but isn't soapy water still denser or heavier than air?
Yes, soapy water is denser than air.
But the film of a soap bubble is so thin, the mass is negligible.
Smarty piss, how thin do you think the film, or outside skin, of a soap bubble is?
Is it the diameter of a human hair?
A few tenths of the diameter of a human hair?
Or a few hundredths of the diameter of a human hair?
If you said the diameter of human hair, that's thin, but not thin enough.
It's actually a few hundredths of the diameter of a human hair.
That's around the same thickness as a single wavelength of light.
Bubbles float because the air inside the bubble is less dense than the surrounding air, which pushes the bubbles upward, an effect known as buoyancy.
The bubble film also acts as a sail that catches the wind.
But what about bubbles in liquid, like carbonation?
Can bubbles actually affect the taste of your soda?
We'll find out right after this quick break.
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Now back to who's smarted.
Whoa, the big popper just hit the fizz with a back -soap -lex, and now he's going for his signature soap -on -the -top role -play!
I gotta say, for a rigged match, this is pretty exciting.
Anyway, what else do you want to know about bubbles?
Well, I've always wondered, when I blow bubbles in milk, or drink a carbonated drink, I notice something similar.
The bubbles rise to the surface.
Is this also caused by buoyancy?
Yes, except in this instance the gas in the bubble, air in the case of milk, and carbon dioxide in fizzy drinks like soda, is less dense than the surrounding liquid.
Therefore, the bubbles rise to the surface and… Pop.
Smarty pants. True or false, bubbly water has a lower density than regular water.
If you said true, you got it.
This phenomenon has interesting applications, from helping springboard divers safely dive into the water, to helping Emperor Penguin safely dive out of the water.
Say what? The lower density of bubbly water makes it softer, or easier to move through.
In diving pools equipped to release bubbles into the water, this effectively creates a cushion for divers to practice new dives.
Since the water slows them down over a longer period of time.
I think I get it. Smarty pants, if the lower density of bubbly water slows down springboard divers entering the water, what do you think it does to Emperor Penguins exiting the water?
If you said, speed them up, that's correct.
In fact, bubbly water helps increase their speed by 50%.
Woah. When Emperor Penguins dive into the waters near Antarctica, they store air in their feathers.
When they approach land or an iceberg, they release the air in a plume of bubbles.
This lowers the density of the surrounding water and increases the penguin's speed, allowing them to safely jet out of the water and onto shore.
Wow. Are there other ways animals make use of bubbles?
Sure. Humpback whales use the acoustic properties of bubbles to hunt fish.
The acoustic properties of bubbles to hunt fish?
The formation of every underwater bubble creates a ping, like a bell.
Big bubbles make a lower ping, and small bubbles make a higher ping.
In fact, the babbling sound of a brook.
The glug glug glug of pouring out a drink and the sound of a crashing waves are all really the sound of bubbles forming.
By blowing out columns of bubbles at large schools of fish, humpback whales use the sound from these bubbles to confuse and overwhelm their prey, making them easier to snack on.
Nom nom nom nom nom.
Who knew? Me, I did.
Right. But sound isn't the only thing bubbles transport.
They could move substances within a liquid to its surface, which affects everything from weather patterns to how carbonated drinks taste.
But those are two totally different things.
Brought together through the magic of bubbles.
Okay, so how do bubbles affect weather patterns?
By helping clouds form.
Bubbles rise to the ocean's surface as foam and spit tiny particles of salt and organic matter into the air, particles on which water droplets form and create clouds.
Smarty Pants, we just learned how bubbles help create clouds.
But how do you think bubbles change the way fizzy drinks taste?
Do they explode in your mouth like mini flavor bombs?
Just naturally taste bubble -icious.
Or mix the drink and release aromatic molecules.
If you said mix the drink and release aromatic molecules, bingo!
But how much bubbles mix the drink and release aromatics depends on the shape of the glass.
Tall, thin glasses give carbonated drinks a stronger taste, because bubbles must travel farther to the surface.
On their journey, they get bigger as they accumulate more CO2, which mixes the drink more as compared to the smaller bubbles in wide, shallow glasses.
When the bigger bubbles reach the surface and pop, they also release more aromatic molecules than smaller bubbles.
Oh wow! I know. Bubbles are extraordinary, right?
No! The fizz just pinned the big popper with his patented aerial egg cream carbonator.
The fizz is the new Bubble -U Bubble -U -B Heavyweight Champion of the World!
I know. I read the script.
A big shout -out to Smarty fan Declan in Clawsson, Michigan.
We're so glad to hear how much you love learning about all the amazing things in the world.
Well, who smarted loves sharing fun facts about all the amazing things in the world?
Sounds like we're a perfect Smarty match!
This episode, Bubbles, was written by Dan Gassie -Gold, and voiced by Soapy Salmon Trader, Adam Pops -Davis, and Jerry Colbert.
Technical direction and sound designed by Simmering Jiajian.
Who smarted is recorded and mixed at the roller -cream studios?
Our associate producer is Max Condensation Kamaski.
The theme song is by Bubbly Brian Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam -Tex -Davis.
Who smarted was created and produced by Adam -Tex -Davis and Jerry Colbert?
This has been an Atomic Entertainment Production.
Star Glow!
