Scientists inch closer to getting a perfect head of beer

All booze-lovers have a reason to rejoice as scientists are a step closer to finding a way to develop a perfectly frothy head of beer which will stay till the last sip.

The study was conducted by researchers of the University of Manchester and was published in journal Chemical Communications.

The lead of the study, Dr Richard Campbell fired neutron beams at the liquids that were used to make the foam and said that the findings of the study will help solve the problem related to foam.

"Just like when we see light reflecting off a shiny object and our brains help us identify it from its appearance, when neutrons reflect up off a liquid they are fired at we can use a computer to reveal crucial information about its surface.

The difference is that the information is on a molecular level that we cannot see with our eyes," said Campbell.

The team studied mixtures containing surfactant - a compound that lowers surface tension - and a polymer - used in shampoos - to come up with a new way of understanding the samples that could help product developers formulate the ideal foam.

"Through our use of neutrons at a world-leading facility that it was possible to make this advance because only this measurement technique could tell us how the different additives arrange themselves at the liquid surface to provide foam film stability," said Campbell.

By reflecting neutrons off their liquid samples, the scientists devised a new way to relate the stability of foam films to the way in which the additives arrange themselves at the surface of the liquid coating of bubbles to provide the stability needed to prevent them from bursting.