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Updated: Jul 6, 2026
14:22
Activating Molecules, Ions, and Solid Particles with Acoustic Cavitation
Published on: April 11, 2014
Inside a collapsing bubble: sonoluminescence and the conditions during cavitation
Kenneth S Suslick1, David J Flannigan
1School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA. ksuslick@uiuc.edu
Annual Review of Physical Chemistry
|April 9, 2008
Summary
Acoustic cavitation drives chemical reactions and emits light through sonoluminescence (SL). This process creates extreme conditions, including temperatures up to 20,000 K, within liquids.
Area of Science:
- Physical Chemistry
- Acoustics
- Plasma Physics
Background:
- Acoustic cavitation involves bubble dynamics in liquids under ultrasound.
- Sonochemistry utilizes cavitation for chemical reactions.
- Sonoluminescence (SL) is light emission from cavitation bubbles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the physical conditions within cavitation bubbles.
- To investigate the plasma generated during sonoluminescence.
Main Methods:
- Spectroscopic analysis of sonoluminescence from single and multiple bubbles.
- Application of pyrometry and plasma diagnostic techniques.
- Analysis of line intensities, profiles, and peak positions.
Main Results:
- Observed line and band emission, plus a continuum from plasma.
- Determined intracavity temperatures and pressures using spectroscopic methods.
- Revealed extreme conditions: temperatures up to 20,000 K, pressures of several thousand bar, and rapid heating/cooling rates (>10^12 K/s).
Conclusions:
- Acoustic cavitation generates extreme physical conditions within bubbles.
- Sonoluminescence provides insights into these high-energy phenomena.
- The study quantifies the intense environment created by cavitation in liquids.
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