What happens when bubbles collide?

Melbourne, June 1 (ANI): University of Melbourne have burst the secret behind what happens when bubbles collide-a discovery that has wide-ranging implications across many industries.

Bubbles hold the key to improving everything from ice cream to champagne to mining - even living body cells.

Using nano-fabrication facilities and the Atomic Force Microscope, the team of chemical engineers, chemists and mathematicians measured the force between bubbles during a collision.

Associate Professor Raymond Dagastine said by understanding how bubbles bounced off each other and moulded together, it was possible to improve things like the stability of ice cream and bubbles in champagne.

"The findings could also be used to improve water waste treatment and increase efficiency in the mining industry," News.com.au quoted him as saying.

Research team member Professor Derek Chan said the findings could also eventually be used to study the behaviours of living cells in bodies.

The force between bubbles during collision was previously too small to measure, however advances in technology enabled the team to study the collisions at various speeds.

The project also included researchers from the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Institute of High Performance Computing and the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences in Singapore.

The study was published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) this week. (ANI)