sonoluminescence

[son-uh-loo-muh-nes-uhns]

noun

Physics.

1. the emission of a flash of light accompanying the bursting of a bubble in a liquid when sound waves are passed through the liquid.

sonoluminescence

/ ˌsəʊnəʊˌluːmɪˈnɛsəns /

noun

1. luminescence produced by ultrasound

Other Word Forms

• sonoluminescent adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sonoluminescence¹

First recorded in 1935–40; sono- ( def. ) + luminescence ( def. )

Example Sentences

So we’re really combining some of modern physics’ ideas of Einstein’s theory with the physics of sound and how sound can turn into light — and that’s called sonoluminescence.

From The Verge

He suggests a phenomenon called sonoluminescence, in which waves are converted to light.

From National Geographic

I built a work that exploits the phenomenon of sonoluminescence, in which extremely high pressure sound waves in liquids create tiny sources of electromagnetic energy.

From Scientific American