How to
DIY!
Sonoluminescence is extremely sensitive to the conditions in which it occurs. When preparing to create the phenomenon, an airtight, cylindrical container filled with degassed water must be used. One percent of the mixture must consist of a dissolved noble gas. When placed between two speakers emitting high pitched sounds at just the right intensity, cavitation bubbles will form. The energy given off by the sound waves is then concentrated within the bubble, which expands and then collapses into itself because of the pressure difference.
After a point, the repulsive forces between the gas atoms and molecules prevent the bubble from shrinking any further. The temperature rises as the pressure shifts on the inside, which opposes the pressure on the outside. Because this shift is so extreme and contained entirely within the bubble, the interior temperature is believed to reach around 8000 Kelvin, which is hotter than the surface of the sun. The picosecond flash of light then occurs, emitting mostly ultraviolet light, along with some red and purple.
Image Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Sonoluminescence_Setup.png
