Sonicator

I went to the lab today knowing absolutely nothing about the instruments etc, and I stumbled upon something very interesting, it's called the Ultrasonic Cleaning System, or commonly called Sonicator =)

It's the first time I see something like this so I came back searched some info about it~~



An ultrasonic cleaner is a cleaning device that uses ultrasound (usually from 150–400 kHz) and an appropriate cleaning solution to clean delicate items.

They are often employed for cleaning of jewellery, lenses and other optical parts.


In everyday use such devices may be found in use in most jewelry workshops, watchmakers establishments, or in electronic repair workshops (where it could be used for cleaning an electronic device that has been exposed to particles which hinder its operation).

Working Principle

In an ultrasonic cleaner, the object to be cleaned is placed in a chamber containing a suitable solution. In aqueous cleaners, the chemical added is a surfactant which breaks down the surface tension of the water base.

An ultrasound generating transducer built into the chamber, or lowered into the fluid, produces ultrasonic waves in the fluid by changing size in concert with an electrical signal oscillating at ultrasonic frequency. This creates compression waves in the liquid of the tank which ‘tear’ the liquid apart, leaving behind many millions of microscopic ‘voids’ or ‘partial vacuum bubbles’ (cavitation).

These bubbles collapse with enormous energy. However, they are so small that they do no more than clean and remove surface dirt and contaminants. The higher the frequency, the smaller the nodes between the cavitation points, which allows for cleaning of more intricate detail.


info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_cleaning