Spontaneous self-organization of microbubbles in a liquid

Abstract

Optical microscopy of thin layers of highly purified water and aqueous electrolytes reveals spontaneous formation of micrometer-sized particles in liquids. Measurements of the optical density of the particles suggest that the particles can be gas microbubbles. In alkaline aqueous solutions with 8 ≤ pH ≤ 10, some degree of order is observed in the relative positions of the particles, which can be interpreted as the existence of one-and two-dimensional ordered structures. The results obtained can be explained by invoking a bubston cluster model.