# Do water bubbles explode or implode? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-bubbles-explode-or-implode/629283 "2012-07-24T21:00:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-bubbles-explode-or-implode/629283/1 "2012-07-24T21:00:09Z")
If you shake up a glass of water, a bunch of bubbles form at the surface then slowly pop as the turbulence settles down. So, is the pressure inside those temporary bubbles higher or lower than the surrounding air/water? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-bubbles-explode-or-implode/629283/2 "2012-07-24T21:10:02Z")
The pressure must be more or less equal to the water, as the bubbles aren’t rigid. They burst, emptying their contents into the air, as the water displaces them. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-bubbles-explode-or-implode/629283/3 "2012-07-24T21:13:31Z")
Because of surface tension in the skin of the bubble, the pressure inside the bubble is slightly higher than local atmospheric pressure. You can observe this with a kid’s bubble wand: blow a bubble, but leave it attached to the wand and unsealed: surface tension will cause the bubble to shrink, blowing the air back out toward you through the hole in the wand.