Abstract
Raising the potential of a charged hemispherical soap bubble over a critical limit causes deformation of the bubble into a cone and ejection of a charged liquid jet. This is followed by a mode which has not previously been observed in bubbles, in which a long cylindrical liquid film column is created and collapses due to a Rayleigh-Plateau instability creating child bubbles. We show that the formation of the column and subsequent creation of child bubbles is due to a drop in potential caused by the ejection of charge from the system via the jet. Similar dynamics may occur in microscopic charged liquid droplets (electrospray processes), causing the creation of daughter droplets and long liquid spindles.