Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Activating Molecules, Ions, and Solid Particles with Acoustic Cavitation
Published on: April 11, 2014
100-Watt sonoluminescence generated by 2.5-atmosphere-pressure pulses
Brian Kappus1, Shahzad Khalid, Seth Putterman
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, California 90095, USA. kappus@physics.ucla.edu
Abstract:
A Xenon gas bubble introduced into a vertically suspended steel cylinder is driven to sonoluminescence by impacting the apparatus against a solid steel base. This produces a 150-ns flash of broadband light that exceeds 100-W peak intensity and has a spectral temperature of 10,200 K. This bubble system, which yields light with a single shot, emits very powerful sonoluminescence. A jet is visible following bubble collapse, which demonstrates that spherical symmetry is not necessary to produce sonoluminescence.
Related Concept Videos
Photoluminescence: Applications
Photoluminescence: Fluorescence and Phosphorescence
A pair of electrons in a...
