The physics of foams and emulsions has traditionally been studied using bulk foam/emulsion tests and single film platforms such as the Scheludko cell. Recently there has been a renewed interest in a third class of techniques that we term as single bubble/drop tests, which employ isolated whole bubbles and drops to probe the characteristics of foams and emulsions. Single bubble and drop techniques provide a convenient framework for investigating a number of important characteristics of foams and emulsions, including the rheology, stabilization mechanisms, and rupture dynamics. In this review we provide a comprehensive discussion of the various single bubble/drop platforms and the associated experimental measurement protocols including the construction of coalescence time distributions, visualization of the thin film profiles and characterization of the interfacial rheological properties. Subsequently, we summarize the recent developments in foam and emulsion science with a focus on the results obtained through single bubble/drop techniques. We conclude the review by presenting important venues for future research.

传统上，泡沫和乳液的物理研究是使用本体泡沫/乳液测试和单膜平台（如Scheludko电池）进行的。最近，人们对第三类技术有了新的兴趣，我们将这种技术称为单气泡/滴落测试，该技术采用隔离的完整气泡和滴落来检测泡沫和乳液的特性。单一气泡和滴落技术为研究泡沫和乳液的许多重要特性（包括流变性，稳定机理和破裂动力学）提供了便利的框架。在这篇评论中，我们对各种单个气泡/滴液平台以及相关的实验测量协议进行了全面的讨论，包括构造聚结时间分布，可视化的薄膜轮廓和表征界面流变性能。随后，我们总结了泡沫和乳液科学的最新进展，重点是通过单气泡/滴落技术获得的结果。我们通过介绍未来研究的重要场所来结束本综述。