Ted Goossen and his wife used a bitterly cold day in Thompson, Manitoba, to make a very small subject visible: a soap bubble changing in the winter air. The original account reported minus 45°C. Against the snowy background, the delicate curved film becomes a place to notice shape, texture and freezing on a scale quite different from a frozen lake or an icicle.
The temperature does not define every bubble's behaviour
The reported temperature comes from the accompanying account, not a separate weather-station record supplied with the clip. It should not be treated as a universal threshold for freezing bubbles. The mixture, the surrounding air and the surface on which a bubble rests can affect its behaviour. A single outdoor demonstration records one set of conditions rather than defining a rule for every bubble.
What research reveals about freezing bubble films
Laboratory work published in Nature Communications in 2019 helps explain why the effect can be so intricate. Researchers observed different freezing patterns under different temperature arrangements, including ice crystals carried around a bubble's film. That research concerns controlled experiments, not a measurement of Goossen's particular bubbles, but it shows why a thin curved film can produce more than a simple solid shell. [1]
Explore more: Angela Kelly’s frozen-bubble photographs; a different cold-weather freezing demonstration.
Watch the surface, not just the floating shape
In the video, follow the surface of one bubble rather than only the moment it leaves the blower. A still photograph can hold details that a quick movement makes difficult to notice. Angela Kelly's frozen-bubble gallery, linked here, is a useful companion for that reason: it changes the pace from a demonstration to a closer look at the forms left by freezing.
The boiling-water finale is a separate demonstration
The original recording also includes a boiling-water throw as a finale. That is a separate demonstration and is not an activity recommendation; hot water can burn even in very cold air. The bubble sequence has enough interest of its own. Keeping the two actions distinct lets the delicate physics remain the subject without turning an eye-catching winter video into instructions to copy every part of it.
Sources, photography and further reading
Original feature and image attributions:
- Evaporating Water in -30C. Must See!
- Historic Freeze Could Break US Midwest and Northeast Temp Records
- Frozen Air Bubbles in Abraham Lake, Alberta Canada
- Things To Do When It’s Really Cold Outside (-17°C)
- How Does -59°C (-74.2°F) Look Like?
- Water Bubbles Freezing In The Air
- Spectacular Photos of Bubbles Frozen in Frigid Temperatures
- Angela Kelly’s frozen-bubble photographs
- a different cold-weather freezing demonstration
No comments