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Beer Bubbles Really Do Sink

Posted by michael on from the news-you-can-use dept.

Galvatron writes "A group of researchers at Stanford have shown that, despite being lighter than the beer itself, bubbles can actually slide down the sides of glasses. So, if you see it happen, it's not just that you've had too much to drink. For a description of methodology and an explanation of why it works, see the article."

10 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. Old story? by ltning · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wasn't there a story on /. a few years ago about someone researching why the bubbles in Guinness were apparently sinking - with the conclusion that they are driven down by streams closer to the centre of the glass?

    --
    Love over Gold.
    1. Re:Old story? by Jahf · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Interestingly, in Dublin drinking from a standard Guinness pint glass at a number of pubs, I never saw the bubbles do anything but rise to form a terrific head. I've only seen the downward bubbles in the Guinness pint (which is a pretty standard size and shape) in the States.

      The Guinness in Dublin tasted better, too, and I'm not the only one that thinks so. The most common answer is that the Guinness in the States is brewed in the UK from inferior water and the Guinness in Dublin is brewed from a much better source.

      Perhaps only "bad" Guinness has the properties needed to float bubbles down?

      --
      It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
    2. Re:Old story? by JoshRoss · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And there was also this one.

    3. Re:Old story? by drwho · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Interestingly, in Dublin drinking from a standard Guinness pint glass at a number of pubs, I never saw the bubbles do anything but rise to form a terrific head. I've only seen the downward bubbles in the Guinness pint (which is a pretty standard size and shape) in the States.

      I highly doubt it. In the US and Australia, beer tends to be served much colder than the standard 55 F, which would cause a greater temperature difference between the outside air and the beer, and a greater temperature difference in the glass, and cause a noticable flow.

  2. Bubbles in Beer in space by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I wonder what happens to bubbles in space, if they are trying to go downswards they sure are going to get confused?

    Maybe they go inwards and congregate at the centre in a matey sort of way.

  3. Wasted Tax Payers Dollars by fozzmeister · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm not saying that this is not valuable information, however if only they had googled before hand they would have noticed that this WAS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT IN 1998! see this story at http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/phys/liquids /p00053d.html

  4. The camera...? by jemnery · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wanted to know more about the video camera after the throwaway line "750 frames per second" - wow!

  5. A group of stanford researchers by orbitalia · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ought to have better things to be doing than looking at bubbles in beer glasses dammit.

  6. As I watcch this video... by Epistax · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I am reminded I am only 20 (and in the US), but that Guinness looks so good. I'm also in Massachusetts which appears to have the worst alcohol laws of any state I've been in.
    People here are shocked when I talk about liquor sold in gas stations! (I'm from Maine, founder of prohibition in the US)

  7. Re:Oh come on by WierdMichael · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is NOT news, Scientific American did an entire article on it months ago. It's just a temperature-differential driven flow - the beer near the edge of the glass warms and rises. The beer in the center sinks. In stout, where this occurs. is thick enough, and the bubbles are small and long-lived enough to be carriied with the flow. It doesn't happen in Lagers or moth Ales, just Porters and Stouts