Sonoluminescence is when sound waves trap bubbles, eventually making a force so great they produce light.Scientists are still unsure how this works.Regardless, one YouTuber was able to recreate it.One of the more obscure properties of water is called sonoluminescence. Just as bioluminescence is when light comes from a living animal or plant, sonoluminescence is when light emerges out of sound. Sound waves trap small bubbles within water, making them shrink, expand, and eventually give off a flash of light. The YouTube channel The Thought Emporium has done a fascinating deep dive—and we mean deep, as in 27 minutes long—into the phenomenon, as well as what it takes to recreate it.View full post on YoutubeTechnically split into multi-bubble sonoluminescence or single-bubble sonoluminescence, the phenomenon was first discovered in 1933. Its causes remain a mystery, and there hasn’t been much research on the subject for reasons that become apparent in the video: It’s hard to recreate, and historically, there haven’t been many practical uses. There have been proposals through the years, like sonoluminescence being used in medical ultrasounds, assisting boats using high-speed propellers, or being helpful in nuclear fission. But nothing seems to have come from them.But hey, there’s another important reason to create the sonoluminescencent effect: It looks really, really cool. 🤷🏻♂️David GrossmanDavid Grossman is a staff writer for PopularMechanics.com. He’s previously written for The Verge, Rolling Stone, The New Republic and several other publications. He’s based out of Brooklyn.
