Single-bubble sonoluminescence: ''Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble''

This review describes in detail the new field of single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL). Increasingly refined studies on classical cavitation led to a pioneering experiment by Gaitan and Crum in 1990 in which a single-bubble in water was trapped in a remarkably stable position by an applied acoustic standing wave. The bubble oscillated reversibly in synchronism with the sound wave and under certain conditions a catastrophic collapse led to the emission of a tiny burst of light, known as SBSL. The effect was characterized by an amazingly precise synchronicity with the sound field, extremely sharp pulses, and a continuous emission spectrum in the visible. SBSL has generated tremendous interest and excitement, mainly due to speculation that the bubble temperatures at the moment of extreme collapse are very high; temperatures higher than 1 x 10(6) K have been proposed. The main experimental results are summarized and the bubble dynamics and SBSL theories are described and evaluated.