surfactants stabilize bubbles reduce water surface tension

Soap helps bubbles last longer even though it lowers surface tension

Pure-water bubbles usually burst quickly because their thin liquid films drain and break. Soap molecules reduce surface tension, but they also help stabilize the film by resisting uneven thinning. That is why adding soap makes it easier to blow long-lasting bubbles. Lower surface tension does not automatically mean a weaker bubble.

Plants can waste energy by grabbing the wrong gas

The enzyme RuBisCO is meant to capture carbon dioxide, but it can grab oxygen instead when CO₂ is scarce. This starts a process called photorespiration that uses energy and loses carbon and nitrogen without making sugar. It is a costly side effect of ordinary photosynthesis.

Benjamin Franklin’s kite was never struck by lightning

Benjamin Franklin’s kite collected electrical charge from a storm cloud, which flowed through wet twine to a key. The key could then charge a Leyden jar, demonstrating that lightning was electrical without the kite itself being struck.

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surfactants stabilize bubbles reduce water surface tension

Soap helps bubbles last longer even though it lowers surface tension

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