Researchers describe the journey of thermal antibubbles in a hot bath

Bubbles are thin liquid shells surrounded by air. Although less well known, there are also antibubbles, which are the opposite of bubbles, i.e., a thin envelope of vapor surrounded by liquid. In a new study, we show that it is possible to create antibubbles by impacting a droplet of a volatile liquid on a bath of viscous oil heated to a temperature above the droplet's boiling point.