Building With
Bubbles
■
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(Science Digest)
Not 'long ago an industrial
chemist sat idly watching his
youngsters chewing bubble-gum.
Suddenly a strange light came
into his eyes. He picked up the
remaining gum and raced for his
laboratory. The inspiration that
came to him then is growing into
a big-time industry.
Science has learned how to
blow what children always have
longed for—bubbles that never
break. In half a dozen new fac
tories complex machines are blow
ing bubbles on a huge scale.
In one plant the “soap-suds” is
a styrene plastic. Special blowers
force air into the melted plastic
creating a light and fluffy foam.
The bubbles are extremely small
and uniform in size. At a certain
point in the process the foam is
cooled. Millibns of air bubbles are
trapped in the plastic, and the re
sulting material looks almost like
a bubble-bath turned solid.
A chunk of the “foam” as big as
a 200-pound block of ice can be
lifted by a little child. Actually
the material is 10 times lighter
than cork. Because every air bub
ble is permanently enclosed in a
thin plastic shell, the foam is ab
solutely water-proof. This, com
bined with its lightness, makes it
enormously buoyant in water.
Hence it was used for making
unsinkable boats and rafts during
wartime. Hundreds of bullets can
be fired into one of these bubble
plastic floats without sinking it.
In spite of its lightness the plastic
foam is strong; it can easily be
cut and shaped with carpenter’s
tools, and because of its airy com
position it provides exceptionally
good insulation against heat and
cold.
It is also quite cheap, it may
come into general use for insulat
ing cold storage rooms, refrigera
tor cars, household coolers and so
on.
Most striking items so far made
with this material are full-size
summer houses. Sheets of the bub
ble-plastic, properly supported,
make up the walls and the roof.
So thin are the countless bubbles
that outdoor light diffuses through
them. The result is a soft pleasing
illumination without glare. Air
trapped in the bubbles keeps out
the sun’s heat.
Architects are now experiment
ing to see if the solidified foam
can be used for all-season houses.
, Large panels of it give plenty of
| natural light without the high
heating cost that comes from hav
ing many windows.
With quite different equipment,
industry is now blowing glass
1 bubbles. Here also the bubbles are
microscopically small. They are
made by forcing air into white-hot
molten glass. Billions of bubbles
make glass extremely light with
out serious loss of strength.
Large quantities of bubble-glass
bricks were used in wartime fac
tory construction and in Allied
warships. They are strong, abso
lutely unyielding to water, sun,
fire or insects. Tms makes them
ideal for roofs and walls.
Such bricks are almost as light
as cork. They feel like sandpaper,
and even when broken do not pre
sent any sharp edges. Unlike solid
glass bricks, they can be nailed
and cut with saws.
Another chemist was inspired by
watching his wife baxe a cake. He
saw the thick, heavy batter rise to
fluffy lightness as the baking pow
der released masses of tiny bub
bles of carbon dioxide gas. Imme
diately he began whipping up
batches of laboratory batter.
Instead of kitchen ingredients
he used special forms of rubber.
After a “baking powder” was add
ed the batter was heated. As gas
bubbles were released, the mix
ture began to rise. It took the form
of a highly uniform foam. When
further heat was applied, the tiny
rubber films around each bubble
became vulcanized. That is, they
toughened.
A rubber “cake” baked this way
really consists of tiny rubber bal
loons, all permanently stuck to
gether. In addition to being verv
light, like the foamed plastic, it
has all the advantages of rubber’s
flexibility.
This is one product many com
panies are preparing to make.
During the war it proved to be
excellent for mattresses and up
holstery. Unlike'springs and pad
dings, the rubber foam keeps its
shape almost indefinitely. It can
Priority Claimants! Noir Priority Buyers!
July 9 thru July 29 are Your Purchasing Days in the New
%
ANCHORAGE Concurrent
Fixed P: 'ce Sale
Hundreds of Rare Bargains in More than $180,000 Inventory of:
Trucks! Trailers!
Electrical Apparatus
and Machinery!
Electrical Supplies!
Builders’ Hardware!
Camping Supplies!
Surgical Supplies!
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and Supplies!
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Emergency Rations!
Safety Equipment!
Photographic Supplies!
-INSPECTION — SALES LISTS
This property may be inspected at the Ft. Richardson Surplus Property Yard,
Palmer Highway, July 9 thru July 29 from 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. daily, except Sat
urdays and Sundays.
Detailed sales lists available Anchorage W.A.A. Office, Army Recreational Hall,
2nd St. btn. C & D Sts., Box 2466. Phone: Main 766.
HOW TO BUY
t All offers to purchase, accompanied by a 10% deposit in the form of certified
check, cashier’s check or money order should be addressed to: War Assets Adminis
tration, Region No. 37, Box 2466, Anchorage, Alaska. All orders received by 5:00 P.M.
July 29 will be filled in the following sequence: (1) Federal Agencies; (2) Certified
Veterans; (3) Federal Works Agency (buying under Public Law 697); (4) Territorial
and Local Governments; (5) Eligible Non-Profit Institutions; (6) Non-Priority Pur
chasers.
All sales subject to W.A.A. Standard Conditions of Sale. Payment in full to be
made within 10 days of notification of award. Property to be removed at the Pur
chaser’s expense with 10 days of date of award.
not become infested with moths
or other insects.
Lately a notable improvement
was made in the baking of “rub
ber cakes.” Chemists worked out
special baking powders which
suddenly release extra amounts of
gas after the batter is full of bub
bles. Billions of rubber bubbles
are burst open, just as a child’s
balloon will break if inflated too
much.
But there is an important dif
ference in the rubber foam. Each
bubble is quite strong and is firm
ly stuck to surrounding bubbles.
Therefore, after bursting, it does
not collapse. If you examine such
a bubble under the microscope it
looks something like a child’s rub
ber ball that has been gashed with
a knife. All the air can be squeez
ed out of the ball to make it go
flat, but when you let it go it will
spring back into shape, sucking
air back in through the hole.
In rubber foam this process
makes it possible for air to pass
freely in and out of the whole
mass. In other words, the material
becomes self-ventilating. This has
obvious advantages when the
foam is used for making bed mat
tresses and chair cushions. Such
articles then “breathe” fresh air
in and out every time a person
moves on them. One type can be
placed under rugs to give a lux
uriously soft, springy feeling with
out the bouncy effect of a rubber
STEP IN TIME SAVES LIFE
DEVON, Conn. (£»5—Five yeiv
old Russell Thomas of New Ha
ven is alive today because anot^r
bather in the Devon park pond
stepped on him.
Surrounded, by scores of other
bathers, the child, son of Mrs. Lil
lian Thomas, apparently sank un
noticed to the bottom of the pond,
yesterday.
Russell Hansen, 24, of Hamden,
entering the pond, stumbled and,
seeking the cause, found the
child’s body, brought it ashore and
administered artificial respira
tion.
-* ^
pad.
Similar materials are being pro
duced with strong plastics like cel
lulose. One of these looks like
familiar white cotton batting. But
it is much lighter, stronger and
water-proof. Made into a “sand
wich” with two thin sheets of »
plywood or aluminum, the com
position is being tried out for
walls in houses. Its insulating and
sound-proofing qualities make it a
promising material for tomorrow’s
home. One form of this plastic
batting is reported to make a good
lining for winter coats, much
warmer and lighter than chamois.
Applying the old-fashi o n e d
skills of bubble-blowers and cooks
to new synthetic ingredients,
chemists are developing entirely
new types of products to build im- ^
portant new industries.
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