Brain Teasers
Bubbly Universe
In a universe with the same physical laws, but which is mostly water with little bubbles in it, do the bubbles attract, repel, or what?
Answer
A bubble should produce a gravitational field that is the negative of that produced by an equal volume of water in an empty universe. This is because a point in space would be affected only by the water in the symmetric image of the bubble with respect to that point. The effect on another bubble in that field would be to attract that bubble since it would be pushing the water around it away. Therefore, the bubbles should attract.Hide Answer Show Answer
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Comments
Feb 24, 2004
So, if the bubbles attracted, wouldn't they just all merge? Or why wouldn't they expand into each other anyway, since there'd be way less pressure in space. I didn't follow the point of this one.
huh
Jake, did anybody read this or did you just go ahead and approve it yourself. It absolutely makes no sense.
You need to re-think your answer - what force caused/causes the bubbles ? If there is nothing agitating the water and causing bubbles to re-form continually, the controlling factor is the incompressibility of the water, which will cause the bubbles to coalesce. The water, a much denser medium, will have the greater gravitic attraction pulling its molecules together, negating any forces acting on the bubbles -
You're looking at the wrong ingredient here,
Don't think of the bubbles, consider the beer!
You're looking at the wrong ingredient here,
Don't think of the bubbles, consider the beer!
i can sum this all up in one word: WHAT!?!?
erm... yeah sure ok... i got the answer but that was just odd
Wouldn't the force of the bubble trying to escape (floating to the top) be greater than any attraction bubble to bubble. Can we have a scientist look at this one.
Huh?? Can someone take a second look at this answer, please?? It makes no sense.
you must be high!
that makes no sense
it was logical enough for me
So many sensible laws must be suspended, there is no making sense of those which are left! It seems to me a universe of water would rapidly become a black hole.
I hate to break it to you, but you ppls obviously don't get what's in several books!
Unless the cosmolgical constant was much higher than our own, such a universe would have collapsed seconds after its birth. The bubbles would have a similar effect.
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