Mechanics of gas-vapor bubbles

Abstract

Most bubbles contain a mixture of vapor and incondensible gases. While the limit cases of pure vapor and pure gas bubbles are well studied, much less is known about the more realistic case of a mixture. The bubble contents continuously change due to the combined effects of evaporation and condensation and of gas diffusion in the liquid and in the bubble. This paper presents a model for this situation and illustrates by means of examples several physical processes that can occur: a bubble undergoing a temporary pressure reduction, which makes the liquid temporarily superheated; a bubble subjected to a burst of sound; and a bubble continuously growing by rectified diffusion of heat in the presence of an incondensible gas.