In cavitation, tiny bubbles of vapor form and collapse in a liquid, often sending shock waves ricocheting. In most occurrences beyond the lab, cavitation bubbles aren’t a solo act; many Keep reading
Tag: cavitation
Ultrasonic Vibrations
Ultrafast vibrations can break up droplets, mix fluids, and even tear voids in a liquid. Here, the Slow Mo Guys demonstrate each of these using an ultrasonic homogenizer, a piece Keep reading
Breaking Bubbles
What do a nineteenth-century war ship, a sardine-hunting shark, and a viral bottle trick have in common? Cavitation! The phenomenon of cavitation occurs when a fluid is accelerated such that Keep reading
Ultrasound in Medicine
When you hear the term “ultrasound,” your brain likely jumps to grainy black and white images of unborn babies, but this technology has a lot more medical uses than just Keep reading
Cavitation Through Acceleration
Cavitation refers to the formation of destructive bubbles of vapor within a liquid. Traditionally, we think of it as occurring when the velocity in a flow becomes high enough for Keep reading
Cavitation Collapse
The collapse of a bubble underwater doesn’t seem like a very important matter, but when it happens near a solid surface, like part of a ship, it can be incredibly destructive. This Keep reading
Jets from Lasers
Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) is an industrial printing technique where a laser pulse aimed at a thin layer of ink creates a tiny jet that deposits the ink on a surface. In Keep reading
Heating from Cavitation
When cavitation bubbles collapse, they can produce temperatures well over 2,000 Kelvin. Since cavitation near a surface can be so destructive, researchers have long wondered whether the high temperatures inside Keep reading
What Makes Joints Pop?
Cracking one’s knuckles produces an unmistakable popping noise that satisfies some and disconcerts others. The question of what exactly causes the popping noise has persisted for more than fifty years. Keep reading
Cavitating Inside a Tube
Cavitation – the formation and collapse of low-pressure bubbles in a liquid – can be highly destructive, shattering containers, stunning prey, and damaging machinery. Inside an enclosure, cavitation can happen Keep reading