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Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Activating Molecules, Ions, and Solid Particles with Acoustic Cavitation
Published on: April 11, 2014
Dynamics of a sonoluminescing bubble in sulfuric acid
Stephen D Hopkins1, Seth J Putterman, Brian A Kappus
1Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Abstract:
The spectral shape and observed sonoluminescence emission from Xe bubbles in concentrated sulfuric acid is consistent only with blackbody emission from a spherical surface that fills the bubble. The interior of the observed 7000 K blackbody must be at least 4 times hotter than the emitting surface in order that the equilibrium light-matter interaction length be smaller than the radius. Bright emission is correlated with long emission times (approximately 10 ns), sharp thresholds, unstable translational motion, and implosions that are sufficiently weak that contributions from the van der Waals hard core are small.
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