On the dynamics of bubbles in boiling water

We investigate the dynamics of many interacting bubbles in boiling water by using a laser scattering experiment. Specifically, we analyze the temporal variations of a laser intensity signal which passed through a sample of boiling water. Our empirical results indicate that the return interval distribution of the laser signal does not follow an exponential distribution; contrariwise, a heavy-tailed distribution has been found. Additionally, we compare the experimental results with those obtained from a minimalist phenomenological model, finding a good agreement.

Research highlights
► We devote this work to investigate the bubbles dynamics in boiling water.
► A simple experiment of laser scattering was designed to obtain dynamical features.
► Correlations and non-exponential distributions were found.
► A simple model was able to describe several aspects of the system.