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Article

Negative Pressures and Cavitation in Liquid Helium

FEB 01, 2000
When subjected to intense sound waves, liquids can be stretched until they break and gas bubbles appear.
Humphrey Maris
Sebastien Balibar

Cavitation—the formation of bubbles—is a familiar phenomenon. Whenever a liquid is agitated violently, there is a possibility that cavitation will occur (see, for example, figure 1). In the case of boat propellers or hydraulic machines, cavitation is a problem that engineers try to avoid. In other contexts, however, cavitation can be useful—as, for example, in ultrasonic cleaning devices.

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More about the authors

Humphrey Maris, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.

Sebastien Balibar, National Center for Scientific Research, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France.

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This Content Appeared In
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Volume 53, Number 2

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