Robert M Hiller

US Patent:

56591730, Aug 19, 1997

Filed:

Feb 23, 1994

Appl. No.:

8/201113

Inventors:

Seth J. Putterman - Sherman Oaks CA
Bradley Paul Barber - Northridge CA
Robert Anthony Hiller - Los Angeles CA
Ritva Maire Johanna Lofstedt - Los Angeles CA

Assignee:

The Regents of the University of California - Oakland CA

International Classification:

G01T 120

US Classification:

250361C

Abstract:

Sonoluminescence is an off-equilibrium phenomenon in which the energy of a resonant sound wave in a liquid is highly concentrated so as to generate flashes of light. The conversion of sound to light represents an energy amplification of eleven orders of magnitude. The flashes which occur once per cycle of the audible or ultrasonic sound fields can be comprised of over one million photons and last for less 100 picoseconds. The emission displays a clocklike synchronicity; the jitter in time between consecutive flashes is less than fifty picoseconds. The emission is blue to the eye and has a broadband spectrum increasing from 700 nanometers to 200 nanometers. The peak power is about 100 milliWatts. The initial stage of the energy focusing is effected by the nonlinear oscillations of a gas bubble trapped in the liquid. For sufficiently high drive pressures an imploding shock wave is launched into the gas by the collapsing bubble.