Jet drops produced by bubbles bursting at the surface of seawater

Several empirical formulas were reported to describe the production of jet drops by bubbles bursting at the surface of seawater; they were, however, based on scanty data. Recent observations of Spiel have provided new data for intermediate-size bubbles; his results are further quantified here, aiming for their extrapolations to both small and large bubbles. A greater number of jet drops are shown to be produced by smaller bubbles; the production follows a combined exponential and linear decline for larger bubbles, rather than the exponential or linear decline proposed earlier. The largest number of jet drops produced by the smallest bubble may not exceed seven. The largest bubble that can produce jet drops may not exceed about 1.7 mm, a radius somewhat smaller than the analytical value. The ratio between the radius of jet drops and that of their parent bubble is always greater than the oft-quoted 1-to-10 value; it approaches a minimum value of 0.110 for zero bubble radius and reaches a maximum value of 0.147 for bubbles having a radius larger than 0.8 mm.