Growth and application of large spherical bubbles using reactive gases

Under certain conditions, bubbles composed of reactive gases may be placed in liquids. When the gases are ignited, the bubbles will rapidly grow, producing large bubbles (up to almost 3 cm in diameter) that can be essentially spherical prior to and during the growth phase, even in normal gravity. Experiments and analyses regarding this type of bubble growth are presented in this paper. It is suggested that this method of bubble growth provides unique opportunities to study phenomena associated with rapid growth of bubbles in liquids, for example growth of bubbles in droplets burning in microgravity and bubble growth during microgravity pool boiling.