This page last updated on November 6, 2009.
Since August 2009 I have been working with a Westview High School student, named Udit, developing the apparatus to study quasi-two-dimensional turbulence in flowing soap-water films (soap bubbles).
Turbulent flow within the soap-water film is an analogue for large scale turbulent flow in the atmosphere and the ocean. The primary similarity is the aspect ratio, which keeps the flow nearly two-dimensional. The vertical to horizontal aspect ratio of the lower atmosphere, the troposphere, is about 10km to 36000km; the aspect ratio of the upper ocean is about 1km to 6000km. The soap-water film is about 10 micrometers thick, and the horizontal scale is 10cm, so the aspect ratio of all three systems is close to 1/1000.
Our developments have followed the approach of Maarten Rutgers, who has some nice photos and movies at his web site.
As this is currently an unfunded project, we are progressing slowly. Fortunately, there is a good literature on the subject.
Chomaz has a nice paper on soap-film physics: pdf/Chomaz2001.pdf
This is a good overview paper on apparatus and measurement techniques: pdf/Rutgers01a.pdf
Overview from University of Buffalo MechE: http://www.mae.buffalo.edu/research/laboratories/combustionlab/Flowing%20soap%20films/Flowing%20soap%20films.htm
Maarten Rutgers' overview: http://maartenrutgers.org/science/soapbasics/soapbasics.html
Nice images of flow: http://www.colorado.edu/MCEN/flowvis/galleries/index.html
Larger site of fluid related info and images: http://media.efluids.com/galleries/all
Monochromatic 16-bit camera: http://www.telescopes.net/doc/2500/item/04536
