Acoustic levitation of soap bubbles in air: Beyond the half-wavelength limit of sound

We report on the behavior of levitated soap bubbles in a single-axis acoustic field. For a single bubble, its surface in the polar regions is under compression, but in the equatorial region, it is under suction. Levitation becomes unstable when the height of the bubble approaches half the wavelength...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2017-03, Vol.110 (12)
Main Authors: Zang, Duyang, Lin, Kejun, Li, Lin, Chen, Zhen, Li, Xiaoguang, Geng, Xingguo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic coupling
Acoustic levitation
Acoustics
Applied physics
Bubbles
Equatorial regions
Polar environments
Sound waves
Suction
Variation
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Summary:We report on the behavior of levitated soap bubbles in a single-axis acoustic field. For a single bubble, its surface in the polar regions is under compression, but in the equatorial region, it is under suction. Levitation becomes unstable when the height of the bubble approaches half the wavelength of the sound wave because horizontal fluctuations lead to a negative recovery force and a negative levitation force. Vertically stacked double bubbles notably can be stable under levitation if their total vertical length is ∼5λ/6, significantly beyond λ/2 in consequence of the formation of a toroidal high-pressure region around the waist of the two bubbles. Our results provide a deeper insight into the stability of acoustic levitation and the coupling between bubbles and sound field.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4979087