In contrast to a soap bubble, an antibubble is a liquid globule surrounded by a thin film of air. The collapse behavior of an antibubble is studied using a high-speed video camera. It is found that the retraction velocity of the thin air film of antibubbles depends on the thickness of the air film, $e$, the surface tension coefficient σ, etc., and varies linearly with ${(\sigma /\rho e)}^{1/2}$, according to theoretical analysis and experimental observations. During the collapse of the antibubble, many tiny bubbles can be formed at the rim of the air film due to the Rayleigh instability. In most cases, a larger bubble will emerge finally, which holds most of the volume of the air film.

• Received 8 March 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.87.061002