Converting acoustic energy into useful other energy forms
US5659173A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 23, 1994 |
| Grant date | Aug 19, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 23, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E30/10
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Sonoluminescence is an off-equilibrium phenomenon in which the energy of a resonant sound wave in a liquid is highly concentrated so as to generate flashes of light. The conversion of sound to light represents an energy amplification of eleven orders of magnitude. The flashes which occur once per cycle of the audible or ultrasonic sound fields can be comprised of over one million photons and last for less 100 picoseconds. The emission displays a clocklike synchronicity; the jitter in time between consecutive flashes is less than fifty picoseconds. The emission is blue to the eye and has a broadband spectrum increasing from 700 nanometers to 200 nanometers. The peak power is about 100 milliWatts. The initial stage of the energy focusing is effected by the nonlinear oscillations of a gas bubble trapped in the liquid. For sufficiently high drive pressures an imploding shock wave is launched into the gas by the collapsing bubble. The reflection of the shock from its focal point results in high temperatures and pressures. The sonoluminescence light emission can be sustained by sensing a characteristic of the emission and feeding back changes into the driving mechanism. The liquid is in …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.