PHYS 492 Winter 2019 User Manual - Sonoluminescence 1

Achieving Sonoluminescence

Joey Carlson​1​, Davis Austin​1​, Elias King​1​, Natascha Reich​1

1. Department of Physics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403.

Introduction

Achieving sonoluminescence (SL) is notoriously tricky, taking some people just a few
weeks to accomplish, and others many months. This is because there are an enormous amount of
dynamic variables at play; something as small as a 1 degree change in temperature can throw off
your resonance a significant amount allowing your bubble to escape. The idea behind this set of
manuals is to eliminate as much uncertainty in the process as possible using the new apparatus in
the Advanced Projects Lab at the University of Oregon.

Manual for Using Vacuum System

1. Introduction:
Using a vacuum system in the degassing process is essential for reproducible
sonoluminescence (SL). Too much air in the water will cause the bubbles to dissolve. Too little
air will require extremely intense sound waves to achieve SL which is not practical. There is a
slim range in gas content that allows for stable SL and thus it is of interest to have an extremely
accurate degassing mechanism. We have assembled a gas manifold connected to a mechanical
pump which allows for the complete degassing of water, followed by regassing to accurately
achieve the desired gas content of water. Argon is necessary to produce SL that is visible to the
naked eye, thus we have added an Argon inlet to the manifold, along with an inlet for air which
is ~1% Argon. The water is also stirred via a magnetic stirrer in order to increase the two fluid
interface surface area, and thus accelerates the process of achieving equilibrium of partial
pressures. According to Lohse et al. stable SL requires a strong degassing to P ∞ = 0.004P 0 of
Argon, where P 0 is atmospheric pressure. From Henry’s law, this gives a concentration
c∞ = 0.004c0 . In contrast, for air we require the range PP∞ = 0.1 − 0.4 because air is 1% Argon.
0

2. Setup:
The setup is illustrated in figure 1. A mechanical pump is directly connected to a needle
valve to allow for a completely sealed system. This is then connected to a manifold (fig 2) with
three needle valves. The manifold begins at the bottom with a needle valve which lets in air and
is connected to a T-fitting, allowing the line to continue on. The line continues through to a
second similar setup with a needle valve that lets in Argon. The Argon comes from a line that
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extends to a tank with its own manifold to control flow. Next the line extends up to a third needle
valve which directly opens or closes this system. At the top of the manifold is a 4 way fitting
connected to a TC Gauge to monitor pressure, a pop-off valve for safety, and finally a line
leading to the top inlet of a flask with tubulation (standard top inlet along with a secondary inlet
located at the bottom). This flask contains water to be degassed and sits on top of a magnetic
stirrer. The bottom inlet is connected to a tube that leads to the SL apparatus, and has a clamp to
allow or prevent liquid flow.

Fig.1: Vacuum system setup for degassing

3. Use
In order to successfully degas already deionized water, and regass to achieve the correct
gas content, one should follow these steps:

1. With the water sitting in the stirring flask, open the valves to the vacuum and make sure
the Argon and air valves are closed. Turn the vacuum on.
2. Make sure that the TC Gauge reads a pressure below 2000 mTorr and stir the water at a
relatively high intensity for roughly one hour.
- Note there is a qualitative change in the sound of the magnetic stirrer as water is
degassed. The air in the cavitations damps the motion of the magnetic stirrer thus
 PHYS 492 Winter 2019 User Manual - Sonoluminescence 3

damping the sound of it hitting the glass wall. When there is no gas in the water,
cavitations are nearly empty and the clinking gets louder and more sporadic.
3. Stop stirring and close valve to stirring flask (open Argon valve and vacuum out tube if
it’s filled with air and if Ar needed).
4. Turn off vacuum, and close all valves. Open air valve and slowly open valve to stirring
flask letting in only 125 Torr of air.
5. Close off stirring flask and stir for 30-60 minutes.

(Note: Adding in small amounts of Argon to the stirring flask, by about 1% or

approximately 5 Torr, has been found to boost the brightness of sonoluminescence by
around 30 times (See Young, Ronald F. “3.6 Influence of Argon on Stable
Sonoluminescence,” ​Sonoluminescence​. pp. 115-122) . However, if too much Argon is
added, we have noticed that the bubble will continuously seed itself until it grows to an
unstable size, escapes to the wall, and repeats.)

Manual for Building Voltage Amplifier and Designing the Circuit

1. Introduction:
In order to achieve SL, one has to drive the PZTs at sufficiently high voltages. For us, SL
was only observed when inputting around 650-700V. This amplification has to be done while
keeping the periodicity of the signal intact. Furthermore, to not damage the PZTs, one has to
input a signal that does not swing negative, but rather swings from 0V to ~700V. For these
reasons it makes sense to build a voltage amplifier that meets all of these specific requirements.

2. Setup:
The circuit diagram is shown below in figure 2. Our waveform is generated by a GW
Instek SFG-2110 signal generator and outputs at frequencies around 25kHz with an amplitude of
roughly 1V. This signal then goes into a power amplifier. We also use a Mastech HY3003D-3
DC Power Supply to power rails in the amplifier up to ±25V. From the power amp, the signal
goes to a 3x step up transformer. Then to a large inductor which does the serious voltage
amplification. The inductor amplifies the voltage in a resonant circuit which is built with a
capacitor, the PZTs, and a diode to bias the signal to all positive. The high voltage signal passes
through the PZTs and drives the sound wave inside the flask.
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Fig. 2 (above): Circuit diagram for resonance circuit

Fig. 3 (below): Our resonance circuit in the lab
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Manual for Finding Resonance

1. Introduction:
Finding the first resonant mode of the flask is notoriously tricky and possibly the most
important part of achieving stable SL. There are many different ways of finding and staying on
resonance. We used the simplest method of finding it manually by looking at the output from a
small PZT which acts like a mic, in conjunction with our input signal both read on a RIGOL
DS1052E Oscilloscope.

2. Tips and Tricks:

❖ Resonant modes have two strong indicators:
➢ A spike in voltage on the mic.
➢ A phase shift will occur between the input and outputted signals as you pass over
the resonant frequency.
❖ Note that a resonance peak usually has a width of around 200 Hz so fine tuning is
recommended.
❖ The waveform generators usually have a “Sweep” function which spans over a selected
frequency range in a selected amount of time. One can look for the two indications of
resonance explained above and mark frequencies as potential resonant modes.
➢ Note that the voltage amplification changes with resonance so it is recommended
to use a signal that purely from the waveform generator to mark potential
resonances. Then when further investigating these frequencies use the voltage
amplifier.
❖ When exploring a potential resonant frequency the best method is to seed a couple of
bubbles and visually observe how they respond to the imposed pressure field.
➢ If bubbles are trapped in more than one node, this is a higher resonant mode and
SBSL will not be achieved. (Note that due to the complicated geometry of the
flask, the lowest resonant mode is not necessarily the mode with the lowest
frequency value)
➢ If a central bubble is formed but continuously orbits, or if the bubble sticks in one
spot for a while then moves to another, it could be moving on the surface of a
small central spherical node which is not the first resonant mode. (This usually
causes the bubble to slowly dissipate as they move.)
➢ If you are investigating a potential resonance from the oscilloscope info, but no
bubbles seem to respond to a pressure field (they behave like normal bubbles
floating up, or are a bit slowed) then this is most likely a “flexing mode” of the
glass flask rather than a standing wave pressure gradient.
 PHYS 492 Winter 2019 User Manual - Sonoluminescence 6

➢ The lifetime of the bubble is also a strong indicator that you’re on the right track.
We found that being on the right resonance is even more crucial to longevity than
the other two factors (being voltage and gas content) because as the bubble moves
around it is flooded with H​2​O.
❖ To better identify bubbles, it is recommended to illuminate them with a bright,
concentrated beam of light. To avoid confusing reflections of the light source on the flask
wall with actual bubbles, move your head up and down. If an alleged trapped bubble
moves when you are moving your head, it is not a bubble - it is a reflection.
❖ Also, be aware that it is easy to mistake little pieces of dust for bubbles. Therefore, clean
the flask after every experiment.

3. Observations
We achieved sonoluminescence at input voltages between ~600V and ~750V. The output
voltage was usually between 1V and 3V. Our resonance frequency was around 28kHz each time.
Below is a picture of the oscilloscope when we achieved sonoluminescence for the first time.
Note that the input voltage (yellow) is only 588V, which was lower than for all following times
that we achieved sonoluminescence. We then increased the voltage and observed the glow
become much brighter.

Fig. 4: Oscilloscope readings upon achievement of sonoluminescence

We also observed complex waveforms, like the one shown above, for every time we got
sonoluminescence. We speculate that these are caused by additional bubbles in the flask, that are
attached to the wall of the flask.
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Manual for Imaging

1. Because of the relatively low illumination from sonoluminescence, a camera able to take
pictures in a dark environment is recommended. For this we used an “Imagingsource”
USB 3.0 monochrome 1.9 MP camera with a macro lens.
2. For our setup we used the software “IC Capture 2.4” that pairs with the “Imagingsource”
camera.
3. It is easier to see the sonoluminescence with a camera than visually by eye. However, it is
possible to see the glow in a dark environment with the naked eye.
4. If a bubble has been successfully trapped in the center, once the lights are turned off a
light should be clearly visible in the center of the flask (see image below.)
(Note: specks of light from other light sources and reflections are often present but should
be ignored.) We recommend increasing the exposure time and gain in the camera
settings.

Fig. 5: Image from "Imagingsource" camera through "IC Capture 2.4" software.
The sonoluminescence is the bright speck at the center of the image.

5. After detection through the camera, a check by eye should be performed to rule out
misinterpretation of bright specks on the monochrome camera image. In our experiment,
the glowing bubble was clearly visible by naked eye from a sufficiently short distance.
 PHYS 492 Winter 2019 User Manual - Sonoluminescence 8

Fig. 6: Sonoluminescence as seen by naked eye (picture taken with cellphone camera)

The Next Steps:

The following possible steps we have thought of for the study of sonoluminescence include:
Using different geometries, specifically trying to produce results with a conical container or
erlenmeyer flask; Using different liquids to achieve better illumination; Doing a quantitative
study on ratios of gas content in the water to stability/illumination; set up a PMT/APD to capture
the illumination more precisely/empirically.