A STUDY OF CAVITATION PHENOMENA USING AN ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPE

摘要

We report work in which an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) is used to deform a liquid film between a colloid sphere and a plane surface. Under some circumstances, when the sphere and the surface are pulled apart rapidly, an unexpected transient decrease of the sphere-surfaceseparation is recorded. Numerical simulations of cavitation bubble dynamics are used to explain how the growth of a cavitation bubble may result in the development of sufficiently large negative pressures to account for this phenomenon. The results of this study provide evidence in support of a mechanism mooted by Israelachvilli and co-workers that in the cavitation of liquids within confined spaces, the growth of a cavity nay be more damaging than its subsequent collapse.