Electroacoustic phenomena

Electroacoustic phenomena arise when ultrasound propagates through a fluid containing ions. The associated particle motion generates electric signals because ions have electric charge. This coupling between ultrasound and electric field is called electroacoustic phenomena. The fluid might be a simple Newtonian liquid, or complex heterogeneous dispersion, emulsion or even a porous body. There are several different electroacoustic effects depending on the nature of the fluid. Ion vibration current (IVI) and potential, an electric signal that arises when an acoustic wave propagates through a homogeneous fluid. Streaming vibration current (SVI) and potential, an electric signal that arises when an acoustic wave propagates through a porous body in which the pores are filled with fluid. Colloid vibration current (CVI) and potential, an electric signal that arises when ultrasound propagates through a heterogeneous fluid, such as a dispersion or emulsion. Electric sonic amplitude (ESA), the inverse of the CVI effect, in which an acoustic field arises when an electric field propagates through a heterogeneous fluid. Ion vibration current Historically, the IVI was the first known electroacoustic effect. It was predicted by Debye in 1933. Streaming vibration current The streaming vibration current was experimentally observed in 1948 by Williams. A theoretical model was developed some 30 years later by Dukhin and others. This effect opens another possibility for characterizing the electric properties of the surfaces in porous bodies. A similar effect can be observed at a non-porous surface, when sound is bounced off at an oblique angle. The incident and reflected waves superimpose to cause oscillatory fluid motion in the plane of the interface, thereby generating an AC streaming current at the frequency of the sound waves. The electrical double layer can be regarded as behaving like a parallel plate capacitor with a compressible dielectric filling.