Rayleigh–Plesset equation
Ecuación de Rayleigh-Plesset
- Date
- 1917-1949 · confidence medium
- Place
- Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Originally derived by Lord Rayleigh in 1917 for the collapse of spherical cavities and extended by Milton Plesset in 1949 to general bubble dynamics.
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Nonlinear ordinary differential equation governing the dynamics of a spherical bubble in an infinite incompressible fluid, key to understanding cavitation in propellers, pumps, and ultrasound.
What it led to
- Understanding of cavitation in propellers and hydraulic pumps
- Theoretical basis of sonoluminescence
- Applications in lithotripsy and ultrasound therapy