Sonoluminescence and sonochemical reactions in cavitation fields. A review

Contemporary ideas on the nature of cavitation are reviewed in this paper. The general theories of sonoluminescence and sonochemical reactions, the origin, stability and splitting of cavitation bubbles, the dynamics of cavitation field evolution, the peculiarities of cavitation effects at low intensity and low-frequency acoustic oscillations, the sonoluminescence quenching effect and some questions on the energetics of cavitation fields are discussed. The electrical theory of the splitting of cavitation bubbles may, as shown in the paper, become an alternative to the thermal theories of cavitation in the future.     

Enhancement of high-frequency acoustic cavitation effects by a low-frequency stimulation

The cavitation effects given by a high-frequency pulsed ultrasound field are studied with and without the stimulation of a low-frequency field. Sonoluminescence intensity and subharmonic one-half intensity of the high-frequency field are measured. The stimulation gives a sharp rise of both subharmonic and sonoluminescence intensities.     

Enhancement of sonoluminescence emission from a multibubble cavitation zone

Investigations have been performed on various methods of increasing cavitation activity measured by the intensity of sonoluminescence. It is shown that the effect of the combined action of (a) pulsed modulation of an acoustic field, (b) liquid degassing and cooling and (c) increasing the static pressure considerably exceeds the sum of the effects achieved by each of these methods individually. A more than 250-fold increase of the sonoluminescence intensity has been attained compared with continuous irradiation under normal conditions (room temperature, atmospheric pressure, gas-saturated liquid). An interpretation of the results obtained is proposed.     

Study into mechanisms of the enhancement of multibubble sonoluminescence emission in interacting fields of different frequencies

The main factor of the enhancement of sonoluminescence (SL) emission by the interaction of two fields of highly different frequencies is the generation of new cavitation nuclei upon collapse of bubbles driven by the low-frequency (LF) field. The factors connected with the direct interaction of the two fields play a significant role in the enhancement of SL emission only in the case when intensities of the fields are less or not much higher than the corresponding thresholds of SL emission. The phenomena of afteraction of the LF field on cavitation generated by the high-frequency field is explained also by the generation of new nuclei upon collapse of bubbles driven by the LF fields.     

Boosting sonoluminescence with a high-intensity ultrasonic pulse focused on the bubble by an adaptive array

Single-bubble sonoluminescence is characterized by a great concentration of energy during the collapse of a gas bubble, which leads to the generation of photons from low-frequency ultrasound. The narrow stability domain of sonoluminescence has limited previous attempts to reinforce this inertial confinement in order to generate photons of higher energy or to ignite a nuclear fusion reaction. We present a new experimental approach where an ultrasonic pulse of high frequency is adaptively focused on the bubble during the collapse. Using an array of eight transmitters, a pressure pulse of 0.7 MPa doubles the flash intensity; this technique can easily be extended to higher pressure.     

Theory of sonoluminescence in single bubbles: Flexoelectric energy contribution

An equation of motion for a cavitating gas bubble immersed in a liquid is introduced which includes a flexoelectric energy term. This energy is deduced from the electric field produced by the bubble wall acceleration (pressure gradient) in the fluid (the flexoelectric effect). We show that under conditions of sonoluminescence, this electric field reaches values typical of the electric breakdown field in water. Our theoretical results are consistent with the duration of light emission, minimum bubble radius, and energy release as measured in sonoluminescence experiments in water. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 6, 442–448 (25 September 1998)     

Multi-bubble sonoluminescence of phosphoric acid

Multi-bubble sonoluminescence spectra of 85% H₃PO₄ and the dependences of sonoluminescence intensity on the acid concentration and temperature are obtained. The spectra contain a weakly structured 300–600-nm band formed by the superposition of radiation from several emitters (presumably, oxygencontaining products of acid sonolysis, viz., PO, HOPO, and PO₂). Weak luminescence at a wavelength exceeding 600 nm can be due to emission from excited O* and Ar* atoms. The shape of the fundamental band changes upon a transition from multi-bubble sonolysis to sonolysis in the setup for one-bubble sonoluminescence, in which several clusters of cavitation bubbles are formed in a spherical flask at ultrasonic frequencies multiple of the first acoustic resonance frequency (multi-cluster sonoluminescence). The form of the temperature dependence of the sonoluminescence intensity depends on the detection regime: for natural heating of 85% acid under the action of ultrasound, a curve with a luminescence peak at 40°C is observed, while in detection with preliminary thermostating “over points,” only an inflection exists on a monotonic curve describing a decrease of intensity upon heating. An analogous curve for acids with a lower viscosity (hydrochloric and nitric acids) has neither a peak nor inflection irrespective of the detection regime. It is concluded that the viscosity of phosphoric acid plays a decisive role in the evolution of cavitation and in obtaining intense sonoluminescence.     

Effect of a change in the optical density of a magnetic emulsion in electric and magnetic fields

The change in the optical density of an emulsion of magnetic fluid drops suspended in a mineral oil under the action of electric and magnetic fields has been investigated. It is found that the sign of the change in transparency in an ac electric field depends on the field frequency. It is shown that, joint action of codirectional low-frequency electric and dc magnetic fields can compensate for the change in the optical density. Calculation of the change in the emulsion optical density within the anomalous diffraction approximation showed that this effect can be explained by small field-induced deformation of microdrops.     

Generation of low-frequency radiation by dense hot plasma under pondermotive action of a short laser pulse

The theory of the generation of low-frequency radiation under the pondermotive action of a femtosecond laser pulse on dense hot plasma is developed. It is shown that, at fairly high plasma temperatures, when electron-electron collisions are rare and the low-frequency field is excited under conditions of the anomalous skin effect, the generation efficiency can be close to maximal. The optimal generation conditions are achieved if the carrier frequency of the laser pulse is close to the plasma frequency and the pulse is tightly focused. Under irradiation by pulses with durations of tens to hundreds femtoseconds, terahertz radiation is generated in a broad angular range.     

单泡声致发光过程的等离子体描述

对单泡声致发光过程采用等离子体描述,考虑了各种等离子体输运过程,假设了声致发光的轫致辐射机制,数值模拟的结果与实验很好地吻合,有力地支持了声致发光的热转向的解释,预言了声致发光中可能出现的极端电现象,对各物理量时空剖面的分析表明,强电场的出现中能产生的Ｒａｙｌｅｉｇｈ－Ｔａｙｌｏｒ不稳定性有制约作用,这可能是声致发光约１０＾１２能量汇集的原因之一。     

Single-bubble sonoluminescence in microgravity

Single-bubble sonoluminescence refers to the emission of light from an acoustically trapped bubble undergoing highly nonlinear, presumably radial oscillations. The intensity of the emitted light depends strongly on the forcing pressure, and is limited by the development of instabilities that ultimately results in the extinction of the bubble. In this article, we discuss a possible contributing factor for the generation of instabilities; specifically, we examine the effect of the gravitational force on a sonoluminescence bubble.     

Luminescence mechanism of acoustic and laser-induced cavitation

A new approach is proposed for explaining the experimental data on sonoluminescence of acoustic and laser-induced cavitation bubbles. It is suggested that two different sonoluminescence mechanisms, namely, thermal and electric ones, are possible and that they manifest themselves depending on the bubble dynamics. An intense thermal luminescence occurs as a result of compression of an individual stationary spherical bubble; a weak electric luminescence accompanies the deformation and splitting of the bubble when thermal luminescence is suppressed (for example, in the case of multibubble sonoluminescence). It is shown that, when an individual bubble loses its spherical shape under the effect of different actions (change in the acoustic pressure, artificial deformation, translatory motion, etc.) or when a laser-induced bubble undergoes fragmentation, the sonoluminescence spectrum exhibits specific bands that are similar to the bands in the multibubble sonoluminescence spectrum. The appearance of these bands is attributed to the suppression of the thermal sonoluminescence mechanism and the manifestation of the electric mechanism. It is shown that the maximum temperature T _max characterizing the compression of a laser-induced bubble is primarily determined by the temperature of the plasma at the instant of the laser-induced breakdown, whereas, for an acoustic bubble, T _max is primarily determined by the acoustic and hydrostatic pressures and by the saturation vapor pressure of the liquid.     

Measurements of the dependence of sonoluminescence on acoustic pressure of ultrasonic field and measurements of the acoustic spectrum of cavitation noise

Time-averaged values of the sonoluminescence in dependence on the acoustic pressure of ultrasonic field were measured in distilled water, exposed to ultrasonic field of frequency 43·40 kHz at temperatures of 5, 15, 25, 35 and 45 ° C in ambient atmospheric pressure. Average values of the sonoluminescence were measured with the aid of a photomultiplier — as a voltage drop on its working resistance. Effective acoustic pressure of ultrasonic field was measured with a piezoelectric s ensor coupled to a high-frequency millivoltmeter. The acoustic spectrum of cavitation noise (from 0·3 up to 2·0 MHz) in water was measured at temperatures of 5, 15, 25, 35 and 45 °C for various mean values of the sonoluminescence. Piezoelectric sensor was employed in detecting the spectrum of cavitation noise. The voltage signal on the sensor was measured by means of a heterodyne voltmeter. Sonoluminescence flashes were detected with a photomultiplier, amplified and displayed on an oscillograph screen together with the intensity of ultrasonic field in the liquid. Theoretical arguments are outlined explaining the occurrence of maxima in the acoustic spectrum of the cavitation noise.The authors express their thanks to Prof. RNDr. M.Brdika for his constant interest in their work and useful hints.     

Interaction of acoustic waves in microinhomogeneous media with hysteretic nonlinearity and relaxation

The propagation of a weak high-frequency pulse in the field of an intense standing low-frequency pump wave excited in an acoustic resonator with quadratic hysteretic nonlinearity and relaxation is theoretically investigated. The nonlinear damping coefficient and the carrier phase delay of the weak high-frequency pulse propagating under the action of an intense low-frequency wave are determined.     

The effect of fluorocarbon gases on sonoluminescence: a failure of the electrical hypothesis

Ultrasonic irradiation of solutions containing volatile organometallic complexes results in intense emission from excited-state metal atoms. We have determined the effect of dissolved gases (Xe, Kr, Ar, Ne, He, CF₄, C₂F₆, CO, N₂) on the intensity of the sonoluminescence resulting from ultrasonic irradiation of silicone oil solutions of Cr(CO)₆. This provides a well-defined, spectrally resolved probe of sonoluminescence with emission resulting from a single species, the chromium atom excited states. As predicted by the hot-spot, thermal mechanisms of sonoluminescence, the intensity of excited-state Cr emission decreases with increasing thermal conductivity of the noble gases. The intensity of sonoluminescence increases with increasing γ (i.e. C_p/C_v), which is also in accord with a thermal mechanism. Sonoluminescence is substantially diminished by the addition of even small amounts (≈ 1%) of CF₄ or C₂F₆, even though they are capable of supporting electrical discharge. This is in agreement with a thermal mechanism, but is in direct conflict with electrical theories of sonoluminescence.     

On the nature of the magnetoplastic effect in a beryllium condensate

The effect of a weak constant magnetic field on the temperature and amplitude dependences of the effective shear modulus, low-frequency internal friction, and the ratio of velocities of the dislocation motion in a magnetic field and without it in a beryllium condensate has been investigated. It has been shown that the simultaneous action of a constant magnetic field, mechanical stresses, and a variable temperature results in sign reversal of the magnetoplastic effect in beryllium. It has been found that the sign reversal of the magnetoplastic effect is accompanied by the sign reversal of the ratio of velocities of the dislocation motion, as well as by oscillations in the temperature dependence of this ratio. Possible mechanisms of manifestation of the magnetoplastic effect in beryllium have been discussed in terms of the results of the comprehensive analysis of the amplitude dependences of the studied characteristics.     

低频强场作用下三维光子晶体中二能级原子的自发辐射性质

研究了处于三维光子晶体中，且在强相干的低频场的驱动下的单个二能级原子的自发辐射性质.由于低频场的影响，使得原子产生了在跃迁过程中吸收或发射一个低频光子的衰减渠道.这些跃迁导致了自发辐射的量子干涉，再加上光子晶体能带带边的作用，自发辐射被显著抑制.原子的布居俘获依赖于原子上能级与能带带边的相对位置，低频场的频率和原子不同跃迁通道间的相对跃迁强度. 关键词： 光子晶体 二能级原子 自发辐射     

A search for sonoluminescence in vivo in the human cheek

In a previous experiment, sonoluminescence was observed in aerated water, especially at the pressure antinodes in the standing-wave field of a physiotherapeutic ultrasound device (Therasonic 1030). Mammalian cells in vitro showed growth inhibition when placed at the pressure antinodes but not at adjacent pressure nodes. In the light of these results, we looked for sonoluminescence in vivo when a similar standing-wave field was set up. To detect luminescence, a light guide was held against the inner surface of the human cheek. This would channel any luminescence photons to a cooled, red-sensitive photomultiplier which would quantify the light. Direct insonation of the cheek produced no detectable luminescence. Similarly when a water bag was placed against the outer surface of the cheek, and the latter was insonated through the bag, no luminescence was detected. Sonoluminescence from the water bag was, however, detected when the bag was placed against the inner surface of the cheek, showing that absorption of sound by the cheek tissue was not preventing cavitation. Further analysis showed that if cavitation had been occurring in the cheek without detection using the system employed, then the resulting sonoluminescence would have to be at most 0.025 times as intense as that produced by an equivalent volume of aerated water.     

振动斜板上下落液体薄膜的数值模拟

用Galerkin有限元法数值模拟了振动斜板上的下落液体薄膜流动,研究了流场中不同强迫频率和初始扰动频率的影响.结果表明由于它们之间的相互作用,流场中出现低频信号,其在流场中的非线性效应使得表面波发生合并,加速了表面波的发展.对较高的强迫频率,这种效应更明显,且可观察到孤立包的产生.     

Sonoluminescence

Abstract

Sonoluminescence is the light emission phenomenon from collapsing bubbles in liquid irradiated by an ultrasonic wave. In the present review, theoretical and experimental studies of the two types of sonoluminescence [single‐bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) and multibubble sonoluminescence (MBSL)] are described. SBSL is a sonoluminescence from a single stably pulsating bubble trapped at the pressure antinode of a standing ultrasonic wave. MBSL is a sonoluminescence occurring from many bubbles in liquid irradiated by an ultrasonic wave. The theoretical and experimental studies suggest that SBSL originates in emissions from plasma inside the heated bubble at the bubble collapse, whereas MBSL originates both in emissions from plasma and in chemiluminescence inside heated bubbles at the bubble collapse. Unsolved problems of sonoluminescence have also been explained in detail.