Experimental Validation of the Dissociation Hypothesis for Single Bubble Sonoluminescence

Abstract

Single bubble sonoluminescence stability in ambient radius ( ${R}_{0}$), drive pressure ( ${P}_{a}$) phase space is examined for water partially saturated with pure argon, pure nitrogen, and argon/nitrogen mixtures in order to examine the dissociation hypothesis (DH) of Lohse and Hilgenfeldt [J. Chem. Phys. 107, 6986 (1997)]. A stroboscopic imaging system was employed to measure ${R}_{0}$ and the maximum bubble radius ${R}_{\mathrm{max}}$. ${P}_{a}$ was calculated by fitting the Rayleigh-Plesset equation to ${R}_{0}$ and ${R}_{\mathrm{max}}$. Excellent agreement was seen between experiment and prediction over a wide range of parameters, validating DH.