Exotic proposals for cavatation An unusually exotic theory of sonoluminescence, which has received much popular attention, is the Casimir energy theory suggested by noted physicist Julian Schwingerand more thoroughly considered in a paper by Claudia Eberleinof the University of Sussex.
Eberlein's paper suggests that the light in sonoluminescence is generated by the vacuum within the bubble in a process similar to Hawking radiation, the radiation generated at the event horizon of black holes. According to this vacuum energy explanation, since quantum theory holds that vacuum contains virtual particles, the rapidly moving interface between water and gas converts virtual photons into real photons. This is related to the Unruh effect or the Casimir effect. If true, sonoluminescence may be the first observable example of quantum vacuum radiation. The argument has been made that sonoluminescence releases too large an amount of energy and releases the energy on too short a time scale to be consistent with the vacuum energy explanation, although other credible sources argue the vacuum energy explanation might yet prove to be correct. See: Sonoluminescence as a QED vacuum effect: Probing Schwinger's proposal http://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/9805031v2 Also see Sonoluminescence as a QED vacuum effect: Probing Schwinger’s proposal http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CGIQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fe-cataustralia.com%2Fpdf%2FJulian_Schwinger-A_Progress_Report.pdf&ei=y3C0UNLQI6-F0QHslYG4Bg&usg=AFQjCNFlILuJXB8eKBH0iYxqLrues4cGUg&sig2=eFVbPwKIr_uXtl-abuE6cg By the way: Schwinger is recognized as one of the greatest physicists of the twentieth century, responsible for much of modern quantum field theory, including a variational approach, and the equations of motion for quantum fields. He developed the first electroweak model, and the first example of confinement in 1+1 dimensions. He is responsible for the theory of multiple neutrinos, Schwinger terms, and the theory of the spin 3/2 field; and yet Julian Schwinger had resigned from the American Physical Society (APS) to protest its censorship of his theoretical work on cold fusion from APS publications. Cheers: Axil
