Friday, December 10, 2010

Random Word Generated Friday: Bubble

Random Word: Bubble


Bubbles: Proof nature is as lazy as I am.

Bubbles will always find the smallest surface area between points and ledges. Science says this is because they are interesting and excellent  tools for discovering things like mean curvatures of zero or minimal surface. I know that it is because bubbles are lazy, possibly to the point of being anti-lazy (a state in which your efforts at being lazy are actually greater than just doing a task).

This laziness is why bubbles are spheres, because as anyone who managed to pass their middle school geometry class knows, a sphere is the smallest possible surface area for a given volume. Bubbles can't be bothered to do more than the bare minimum, which is why you will never see a dodecahedron or square, because, like doing the dishes, that would take effort.

Bubbles will only stick around if it's easy too. Soap causes bubbles to stabilize because it lowers the surface tension of water. This is explained by the Maragoni effect, in which liquid flows away from areas with low surface tension. Soap selectively re-enforces the weaker bits allowing the bubble to exist. Much like t.v. dinners re-enforce my cooking skills allowing me to exist.

When a bunch of bubbles get together, they like to sort themselves out so that only 3 bubble walls will meet along a line, so that the angles are 120 degrees, as this the most efficient method, which is why a little landscape of bubbles in the tub after a bath will look like a rainbow-y beehive. This is like me folding my socks so more fit in the drawer, so I have to do laundry less often.

In conclusion: Things that are efficient are usually just being lazy.

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