The radial motion of a sonoluminescence bubble driven with multiple harmonics

Abstract

Harmonic excitation has been reported to enhance the light emission of a single sonoluminescing bubble by as much as 300% [J. Holzfuss, M. Rüggeberg, and R. Mettin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1961–1964 (1998)]. In this paper it is shown that the effect of harmonic excitation on the radial motion of the bubble is consistent with bubble dynamics predictions. Also, it has been suggested that the energetic collapse of a sonoluminescence bubble can be enhanced with the addition of an acoustic “spike” drive [W. C. Moss et al., Phys. Lett. A 211, 69–74 (1996)]. Preliminary attempts to spike the bubble with an acoustic pulse (positive and negative) resulted in a temporary increase in light intensity of ≈ 200%; however, a strong acoustic radiation force pushes the bubble away from the antinodal region, suggesting that “spiking” the bubble each and every acoustic cycle may not be feasible.