Scaling and instabilities in bubble pinch-off

We have used a 100 000 frame-per-second video to analyze the pinch-off of nitrogen gas bubbles in fluids with a wide range of viscosity. If the external fluid is highly viscous (η(ext)> 100 cP), the bubble neck radius is proportional to the time before break, τ, and decreases smoothly to zero. If the external fluid has low viscosity (η(ext)< 10 cP), the radius scales as τ(1/2) until an instability develops in the gas bubble, which causes the neck to rupture and tear apart. Finally, if the viscosity of the external fluid is in an intermediate range, an elongated thread is formed, which breaks apart into micron-sized bubbles.