2012 03 26 40 1 Bubble-in-Bubble
2013 02 04 Slow Mo Long Tube
This long tube shown in slo-mo breaks up as the wind buffets it with swirling air. Self-healing allows this bubble to split up in the way that it does.
Self-healing is the name bubblers give to the property of some soap films that seem able to survive certain minor breaches and insults. Self-healing films allow bubbles-in-bubbles to be created by blowing on them where a non-self-healing film would break. Self-healing films result in bubbles splitting into separate bubbles rather than breaking when acted upon by shifting or strong wind.
Some self-healing is generally considered beneficial. There are cases where bubblers considered a film too self-healing if it has a very strong tendency to divide the bubbles in light wind.
Self-healing is a property provided by the most popular polymers such as PEO, HEC and guar gum.
It should be noted that all long bubble tubes or cylinders will try to separate into separate bubbles. That phenomenon is different from the case of bubbles successfully splitting off successfully without breaking the parent in response to the wind.