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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number EP/D50371X/1
Title Nonlinear Bubble-Sound Interaction Phenomena
Status Completed
Energy Categories Nuclear Fission and Fusion(Nuclear Fusion) 5%;
Not Energy Related 95%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Chemical Engineering) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Professor JPM Trusler
No email address given
Chemical Engineering
Imperial College London
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 16 January 2006
End Date 15 July 2008
Duration 30 months
Total Grant Value £315,133
Industrial Sectors Energy
Region London
Programme Materials, Mechanical and Medical Eng, Process Environment and Sustainability
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Professor JPM Trusler , Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London (99.995%)
  Other Investigator Professor GF Hewitt , Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London (0.001%)
Dr PDM (Peter ) Spelt , Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London (0.001%)
Dr OK Matar , Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London (0.001%)
Dr S Franklin , TH Huxley Environment, Earth Sci & Engin, Imperial College at Silwood Park (0.001%)
Professor C (Chris ) Lawrence , Institute for Energy Technology, Norway (IFE) (0.001%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract Sonoluminescence is a fascinating and beautiful phenomenon that is probably best described as an emission of light which occurs when a liquid is subjected to intense sound waves. Sonoluminescence can be reproduced with simple equipment, costing just a few hundred pounds, yet it can appear as regular pulses of light lasting less than a billionth of a second, and is known to be associated with the attainment of temperatures in excess of 100,000 K, pressures in excess of 10 million bar and with aconcentration of mechanical energy of up to 12 orders of magnitude. For this reason, the phenomenon has been termed `A Star in a Jar. Sonoluminescence is associated with nonlinear bubble-sound interactions that have a host of technological applications including surface cleaning, cell disruption, surgical procedures, nanoparticle formation and the activation of chemical reactions. Nevertheless, many mysteries remain about the true nature of sonoluminescence and the conditions reached within a collapsing bubble. Recent experiments have hinted at the attainment of conditions even more extreme than those reported hitherto and it seems to us to be very worthwhile to extend these studies. We plan to conduct experiments in which oscillating bubbles are caused to collapse (or implode) even more energetically that in previous work, and we will monitor the process by measuring the intensity and spectrum of the emitted light. At the same time, we will develop computer models of the process and refine them using data gathered in our experiments. It has been claimed that it might even be possible to reach the conditions needed for nuclear fusion to occur within a collapsing bubble. This seems doubtful, but we shall see
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 11/07/07