Buoyancy-Driven Instabilities in Single-Bubble Sonoluminescence (BDiSL)

Principal Investigator: Thomas J. Matula, University of Washington
Project Scientist: Nancy Hall, Glenn Research Center
Project Manager: Kirk Logsdon, Glenn Research Center

Currently scheduled to be launched: Flight #9A.1 - Date 10/2005

Why:
To quantify the role of instabilities, particular buoyancy, as it pertains to light intensity and bubble dynamics.
To expand the parameter space of sonoluminescence through the observation and measurement of light intensity and bubble dynamics.
To understand why a small amount of noble gas (such as helium, argon, or xenon) to the gas in the bubble increases the intensity of the emitted light dramatically.

How:
Levitate a bubble to generate sonoluminescence and perform ambient and maximum bubble size imaging under constant pressure condition and during extinction ramp experiments. Perform sonoluminescence integrated light emission measurement under constant pressure condition.
These results will be used to validate and test theoretical models.

A bubble collapse results in a liquid jet pushing through the bubble from top to bottom. This example is thought to occur in hydrodynamic cavitation phenomena such as pitting of ship propeller blades.

Impact/Benefits:
To explain the role of cavitation, the formation and activity of bubbles (or cavities) in a liquid for various applications.
To expand the understanding of the effect of gravity on the production of gold nanoparticles in a cavitating field.
As the sonoluminescence light emission depends on the opacity of the plasma that arises inside the bubble, from measurements of the light emission, one may hope to infer better plasma models.

Buoyancy-Driven Instabilities in Single-Bubble Sonoluminescence (BDiSL)

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