The dissolution or growth of a gas bubble inside a drop in zero gravity

The radius-time history of a gas bubble located concentrically within a spherical liquid drop in a space laboratory is analyzed within the framework of the quasi-stationary approximation. Illustrative results are calculated from the theory which demonstrate interesting qualitative features. For instance, when a pure gas bubble dissolves within a liquid drop in an environment containing the same gas and some inert species, the dissolution can be more or less rapid than that in an unbounded liquid depending on the initial relative size of the drop. Further, given a similar growth situation, indefinite growth is not possible, and the bubble will initially grow, but always dissolve in the end.