Apparatus to determine the efficiency of transfer of bacteria from a bursting bubble to the jet drops

An apparatus has been developed to determine the efficiency by which bacteria scavenged and attached to a bubble are transferred upon bubble bursting to the jet drops. Experiments were done by letting bubbles of 625-µm diameter rise about 27 cm through a suspension of Serratia marcescens. The transfer efficiency varied between 50 and 100% and was an inverse function of the concentration of bacteria in the water through which the bubbles rose.