Scaling behavior in shaving cream.

Abstract

The coarsening of a three-dimensional foam is studied with multiple light-scattering techniques. Scaling behavior is observed with the average bubble diameter growing in time as ${\mathit{t}}^{\mathit{z}}$ where z=0.45\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05. Changes in the packing conditions during coarsening give rise to a dynamical process that also exhibits temporal scaling. Neighboring bubbles undergo sudden structural rearrangement events at a rate per unit volume that decays as ${\mathit{t}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{y}}$ where y=2.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2.