A Photographic Study of the Effect of an Air Bubble on the Growth and Collapse of a Vapor Bubble Near a Surface

Interaction of an individual vapor bubble formed by a spark gap in water at room temperature with a neighboring air bubble, such as could have significance in cavitation, was investigated using high speed photography. Air bubbles were located both on and far from boundaries. An air bubble located on the solid boundary was able to protect the surface from damage. Two effects of the interaction which appeared to be important in the damage prevention were energy transfer from the vapor bubble to the gas bubble and repulsion of the vapor bubble by the gas bubble. Gas bubbles far from boundaries absorbed less energy and had less repulsive effect than those on solid boundaries.