Dependence of sonoluminescence intensity on the geometrical configuration of a reactor cell

Dependence of sonoluminescence (SL) intensity on the geometrical configuration of a reactor cell is studied theoretically and experimentally. The model is a rectangular glass cell set in a water-cooling bath. Ultrasound is irradiated from the bottom of bath into the cell. Theoretical analysis of transmitted acoustic energy assuming a plane acoustic wave clarified the influences of distance between the transducer and the cell bottom, thickness of the cell bottom, and water depth in the cell. The theory is examined through intensity measurement of SL emitted in the cell using a photomultiplier tube. Dependence of SL intensity on the above parameters agreed with the theory very well. Distributions of SL are also observed using a high sensitivity CCD camera and are compared with optically visualized sound fields to show the relationship between the sound field and the SL.