Bolha

Bolha is the Portuguese word for bubble and a term used in several domains to describe a gas-filled sphere or a similar structure. In science, a bolha refers to a gas-filled sphere that forms within a liquid or is trapped in a medium. Common examples include air bubbles in water, gas bubbles in carbonated beverages, and bubbles that form during magma degassing in volcanology. The behavior of bubbles is influenced by surface tension, buoyancy, pressure, and viscosity, and they are studied in fields ranging from oceanography to chemical engineering.

In economics, a bolha especulativa denotes a market situation where asset prices rise rapidly beyond their intrinsic value due to exuberant speculation. Such bubbles can be driven by optimistic narratives, high liquidity, leverage, and information asymmetry. When confidence or fundamentals fail to support prices, a sharp correction or crash may follow, with broad financial consequences.

In computing, bubble sort is known in Portuguese as "ordenamento por bolha." It is a simple sorting algorithm that repeatedly compares adjacent elements and swaps them if they are out of order, leading to O(n^2) time complexity in average and worst cases. It is primarily of academic interest and used for teaching rather than for efficient data processing.

In everyday language, bolha also refers to a soap bubble, a thin film of soapy solution enclosing air that often displays iridescent colors. The term can also describe a small blister on the skin in casual speech.