Jets in quiescent bubbles caused by a nearby oscillating bubble

Abstract

An oscillating bubble near another (stationary) bubble can give rise to interesting interactions. Such a nonequilibrium (oscillating) bubble can create a jet in a smaller nearby (initially stationary) bubble as demonstrated in this study both experimentally and numerically. In the experimental study, a spark-generated bubble (through a short circuit with two electrodes) was generated near a stationary smaller bubble. In order to keep the millimeter-sized bubble stationary, it was trapped in a droplet of silicone oil attached to one of the electrodes. The jet in the initially stationary bubble can reach velocities up to 250 m/s, but the velocity becomes lower for bubbles that are larger or situated further away. The current article also describes some experiments with the appearance of a crown-like secondary jet on the free surface (regarded as a large stationary bubble) relatively long after the bubble has collapsed. Some other interesting interactions of a spark-generated bubble with more than one stationary bubble are presented.