The effects of surfactant additives on the acoustic and light emissions from a single stable sonoluminescing bubble

The localized concentration of energy during a single bubble collapse is manifested in two forms, which are the emission of an acoustic pulse, and the emission of a light pulse. Through precise control of experimental parameters, one can levitate a single bubble in a standing wave field and measure the magnitude of the acoustic and light pulses resulting from the violent collapse of the cavity. The information acquired from such measurements provides better understanding of the mechanisms that are responsible for the emissions, which may lead to the practical application of controlled bubble implosions. An experimental apparatus was developed to measure the acoustic and light emissions from a single, stable sonoluminescing bubble. Two surfactant additives were studied to determine the effects on the bubble emissions. Triton X-100, which has previously been shown to provide free interfacial motion, reduced the magnitude of both the acoustic and light pulses from the bubble. The protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) which has been shown to hinder interfacial motion, allowed the bubble to be driven to higher acoustic pressures, and resulted in an increase in the magnitude of the light pulses from the bubble. Images of the sonoluminescing bubble indicate that the collapse remains spherical in the cases presented, and that bubble translation can be correlated with weak acoustic and light emissions.