Astonishing experimental results

Bubbles in a liquid could remain stably suspended and pulsate periodically under the influence of a suitable acoustic field. During collapse, they could undergo a millionfold compression in volume on a picosecond timescale, producing high temperatures and pressures. When the driving acoustic pressure was sufficiently high, the accumulated energy caused the bubbles to emit light—a phenomenon known as sonoluminescence.

Under suitable driving conditions, sonoluminescent bubbles could remain spherical, their nonlinear oscillations repeating precisely for millions or even hundreds of millions of cycles. This very property offered a possible avenue for achieving controlled fusion at relatively low temperatures.

At that moment, inside the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.

The center of the Physics Institute's acoustics laboratory had been temporarily commandeered by Lu Zhou's controlled fusion miniaturization research team. On the experimental bench at the very center of the laboratory sat a transparent vessel with a radius of roughly three inches.

The transparent vessel was filled with clear, viscous concentrated sulfuric acid. High-powered ultrasonic generators were connected to either side, while an array of precision instruments stood around the apparatus, ready to collect experimental data.

Because sonoluminescence occurred in picosecond flashes, ordinary laboratory cameras struggled to capture all the information from the emitted light, especially at the instant when a bubble collapsed to its smallest size.

For this experiment, Lu Zhou had even borrowed the Jin University Acoustics Research Institute's only Phase-Locked Integrated Imaging System.

Aside from certain specialized acoustics experiments, the system was generally used to study antisubmarine sonar. Had it not been for Lu Zhou, the director of the Acoustics Research Institute would never have agreed to lend it out.

Standing beside the apparatus, Sheng Xianfu had finished preparing the experiment and turned his gaze toward Lu Zhou nearby.

Lu Zhou nodded and said,

"Begin."

"Yes."

Taking a deep breath,