Sound absorption by a solution of nanoparticles

Abstract

Absorption of an acoustic wave in a colloidal solution via two mechanisms: due to viscous friction in the liquid and due to energy dissipation on nanoparticles is studied. The dependence of the imaginary part of the wave vector on the frequency is estimated in both cases. It is shown that in typical colloidal solutions, the first absorption mechanism dominates at low frequencies, and the second one, at higher, ultrasonic frequencies.