Story stuff...

[kinzel]

OK, so what *is* sea foam or the foam at the base of a dam or waterfall made of? What makes persistent bubbles? Is it "stretched water" as I heard someone tell a child?

Guesses are good, cites are better.

Comments

[robotech-master.livejournal.com]

Here's a good starting point! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foam)

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

Here ya go:

http://www.bcgov.net/bftlib/seafoam.htm

[magda-vogelsang.livejournal.com]

See also here:
http://www.surfingvancouverisland.com/weather/seafoam.htm

And from a website on my local river, the Huron:

Is the foam seen in the river pollution?

Foam is often seen along lakeshores and on streams and rivers. Most foam is natural and does not indicate pollution. Foam forms when water is mixed with air, such as by a waterfall or waves breaking against the shore. Plants and animals release organic compounds as they decompose, and these compounds lessen the surface tension of water and create bubbles.

(from this page: http://www.a2gov.org/PublicServices/SystemsPlanning/Environment/HuronRiver.html )

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

I read the various links provided -- thanks for the information!

However, I kind of like that stretched water notion. Especially on the seaside, comparing seafoam to salt water taffy sounds like a natural explanation. Just like the machine works and works the taffy so that it's soft and full of air, the ocean waves and tides work the water so that it stretches and fills with air, making seafoam.

Doesn't that sound like a good explanation? More interesting than scum on the waves getting air trapped in tiny bubbles, eh?

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

Yeah, surfactants being everywhere is soooo booorrrring.

And you can do some pretty interesting stuff with very pure water. Like it not boiling or freezing.

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

"More interesting?" Nope.

I prefer reality-based worlds. "Stretched water" is stretched truth.

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Would you give me "more poetic?" Interesting is in the mind of the beholder, I will admit. Still, the notion of stretching water seems almost magical.

Stretching the truth? Ah, but how many layers of truth are there?

Thanks for reading.

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

All the helpful links saved me from having to speculate based on my experience with hot tubs, both clean and in-need-of-cleaning (the latter being a euphemism for "filthy"). Or they would, if I didn't enjoy speculating anyway.

All hot tubs will create foam when the jets are running, of course, but the presence of body oil, makeup, and/or suntan lotion will create a film--AKA "scum"--that results in persistant foam that doesn't disappear when the jets are turned off. (Can you tell I once worked at a resort with a hot tub with an inadequate filter?) I would presume that persistant foam in a natural setting implies oils in the water, either naturally occuring or man-made. Foam in oil-less water tends to disappear as soon as the source of agitation is removed, as soon as the water in the bubble walls evaporates.