![]() “We first had to understand the physics of clean bubbles before we could add organisms like bacteria to see what effect they have on the system,” Bourouiba says.Īs it happens, the researchers first noticed bacteria’s effect somewhat by accident. When an old bubble bursts at the water surface, its cap fragments into numerous small droplets.īourouiba has spent the past several years meticulously generating, imaging, and characterizing clean, uncontaminated bubbles, with the goal of establishing a baseline of normal bubble behavior. “We discovered bacteria can manipulate interfaces in a manner that can enhance their own water-to-air dispersal,” says Lydia Bourouiba, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory.īourouiba’s co-author on the paper is graduate student Stephane Poulain. A single droplet, the researchers estimate, can carry up to thousands of microorganisms, and each bubble can emit hundreds of droplets. The thinner the bubble, the higher the number of droplets it can launch into the air when the bubble inevitably bursts. During this time, the cap of the contaminated bubble thins. ![]() ![]() In the study, published today in the journal Physical Review Letters, the researchers found that bacteria can affect a bubble’s longevity: A bacteria-covered bubble floating at the water’s surface can last more than 10 times longer than an uncontaminated one can, persisting for minutes instead of seconds. From standing puddles, lakes, and streams, to swimming pools, hot tubs, public fountains, and toilets, bubbles are ubiquitous, indoors and out.Ī new MIT study shows how bubbles contaminated with bacteria can act as tiny microbial grenades, bursting and launching microorganisms, including potential pathogens, out of the water and into the air. Wherever there’s water, there’s bound to be bubbles floating at the surface. ![]()
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