Bubble Dynamics

Rayleigh collapse, sonoluminescence, and acoustic cavitation
Pressure: 50 kPa
Frequency: 20 kHz

Rayleigh Collapse Time

~8 μs

t_c = 0.9146·R₀√(ρ/p∞) — Rayleigh 1917. Bubble wall velocity at collapse can exceed 1000 m/s, creating microsecond hot spots (~10,000 K, 1000 atm)

Peak Temperature

--

Sonoluminescence: adiabatic compression heats gas to plasma temperatures — light flashes last ~100 ps, implying temperatures comparable to the sun's surface

Bubble Count

0

Transient cavitation (collapse in one cycle) vs. stable cavitation (oscillate many cycles). The Bjerknes force attracts bubbles toward pressure antinodes