Applied Optics, Volume 34, No. 15, pp. 2648-2654 (20 May 1995)A single bubble of air in water can emit pulses of blue-white light that have durations of less than 50 ps
while it is oscillating in an acoustic standing wave. The emission is called sonoluminescence. A
knowledge of the bubble diameter throughout the cycle, and in particular near the time of sonoluminescence
emission, can provide important information about the phenomenon. A new Mie scattering
technique is developed to determine the size of the bubble through its expansion and collapse during the
acoustic cycle. The technique does not rely on an independent means of calibration or on accurate
measurements of the scattered intensity.This work was supported in part by the Naval Postgraduate School Research Program and the Office of Naval Research
