Bubble motions confined in a microspace observed with stroboscopic technique

Dynamic motions of gas bubble confined in a microspace, i.e., in a channel of a microreactor, were observed with a video microscope and stroboscopic technique using a light emitting diode operated in a pulsed mode. There are many important phenomena related to the bubble dynamics synchronized with ultrasonic wave and continued for more than a few minutes. With the stroboscopic technique, the time-expanded bubble motions synchronized with ultrasound wave and the real time background images can be simultaneously observed. A number of interesting phenomena resulting from the dynamic motions of a microbubble in a microspace were observed; nonspherical bubble oscillation, rectified diffusion, emergence of cavitation, and microstreaming of different patterns depending on the input power of ultrasound. The observation technique described in this investigation could be a convenient tool for taming the bubble under a microscope to investigate the bubble dynamics in detail. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.