Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

Chemomechanics t1_j2jo4zg wrote

I don't really understand the way you're using standard terms. "Cavitation" typically refers to the formation and collapse of vapor bubbles in a liquid under low pressure. "Cavitated away and ruptured" doesn't seem to have any meaning for EM radiation. Please clarify your intended meaning.

78

[deleted] t1_j2jol2j wrote

[removed]

−19

Chemomechanics t1_j2jps99 wrote

> only it also works in glass and cells, which is a crystalline structure, and it also works in space, which is something idk.

This conflates multiple different phenomena. Without bringing in technical jargon, which tends to confuse the issue, what is the ultimate question you're trying to answer?

36

chriswhoppers OP t1_j2jq3ya wrote

Can electromagnetic radiation be ionized away, or cavitated, or sonically ruptured through resonance, or perhaps radio frequency interference, can you remove unwanted radiation in the atmosphere with fairly simple means?

2

ChromaticDragon t1_j2jsotw wrote

> space, which is something

I think this is the root of your trouble.

The easiest answer to your original question, I believe, is simply "no".

A deeper answer would be to redirect you towards learning the nature of EM radiation. Folk here are wrestling with this because it's hard to ascertain adequately the root(s) of your misconceptions.

To me, at least, it seems you're stuck in something akin to where people were more than a century ago where they were convinced light had to be a wave in some sort of medium which they dubbed the ether. You seem to be imagining "EM radiation" as some sort of disturbance in space whereby the space disturbance can be collapsed, ruptured, cavitated (whatever word you want). But our current understanding of EM radiation doesn't work like that... at all.

To better understand destructive interference of electromagnetic waves, you are going to need to fall back to learn about waves, in general. After you get used to constructive and destructive interference in waves of water in a pond, then you should wrestle with the medium-less nature of waves in the electric and magnetic fields.

33

cvnh t1_j2js69m wrote

Cavitation is a phenomenon that occurs in masses of liquids (property of mass/matter). Liquids turn into gas at certain combinations of temperature and pressure, so at a certain temperature if pressure drops (e.g. due to fluid motion), vapor will form. Radiation (generically) is related to energy (it does propagate in the vacuum), thus it cannot "cavitate".

13

dumbgunn t1_j2jq0l6 wrote

I wish there was flair for when the question sounds like someone was high when they thought of it.
None of these things are similar. Both cavitation and rupturing are nonsensical in terms of radiation.

The closest you get here is that some radiation (charged particle types) are influenced by magnetic fields and can be deflected. This is one way Earth’s geosphere protects us. Another is with the atmosphere eliminating almost all high energy photons (related to its optical depth).

55

Kauske t1_j2jr235 wrote

Kind of makes me think of the 'treknobabble' that resolves the situation du-jour in many a lazily written Star trek episode.

22

FogeltheVogel t1_j2jskau wrote

It does sound like a phrase that comes after someone explains that they need to reverse the polarity.

11

David-Puddy t1_j2l5prf wrote

Followed by someone giving a simple to understand analogy

"It's like rubbing a balloon on your head to make a piece of plastic float!"

3

sciencedthatshit t1_j2jopk2 wrote

You have some basic misuse of terminology here which makes it impossible to answer your question. Cavitation is a vapor/liquid phase phenomenon and has nothing to do with EM radiation. Rupturing is also a physical process that does not apply to EM radiation.

The closest thing I can think of that your question resembles would be destructive interference? You should read up on what all the jargon you're using means and come back with a coherent question if you're looking for an answer.

34

cdstephens t1_j2jqw3f wrote

I think you misunderstand what radiation is. Your question doesn’t make much sense. Electromagnetic waves aren’t matter, they don’t work like matter and can’t be “ruptured” or “destroyed”. They don’t have pieces holding them together like matter does. There’s simply nothing to break apart.

Electromagnetic waves (like radio waves, visible light, etc.) are self-propagating waves of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that travel through space. They can also travel through materials, like water or glass.

Electromagnetic waves can be absorbed by matter, where the energy of the electromagnetic wave goes into the matter that’s absorbing it. For instance, radiation from the Sun is absorbed by your skin, thus making you warm (as well as damaging some cells).

Electromagnetic waves follow the superposition principle, where if two or more electromagnetic waves are in the same region of space they can interfere. If the intensity of the radiation is increased, this is constructive interference. If the radiation intensity is decreased, this is destructive interference.

Importantly, two waves from different sources cannot perfectly destructively interfere everywhere in all space. If you have two waves and there’s a region where they perfectly cancel out, there must be another region nearby where they add up and constructively interfere. So you cannot destroy or cancel out radiation with another electromagnetic wave, all you can do is shift in space where the intensity is high or low.

You can of course stop creating an electromagnetic wave by turning off whatever the source is (e.g. turning off a flashlight), but the radiation that’s been created will already be traveling outwards.

13

PlayboySkeleton t1_j2jos8a wrote

You have mentioned a whole bunch of different phenomena that aren't really related to each other. Are you asking if, just like these phenomena affect EM, can EM also cavitate or rupture? Or are you trying to ask if EM can affect glass or impart some effect on an item like sound affects glass?

Idk what you are asking here. There are a lot of quarter words used, but the structure makes about as much sense as my 5 year old trying to fill his piggy bank.

11

[deleted] t1_j2jp1ih wrote

[removed]

−13

sangred0 t1_j2ju3ac wrote

An opera singer breaking glass isn't due to any sort of "cavitation" phenomenon, that happens because of a cascading resonance phenomenon (or termed in a way that relates to EM radiation, constructive wave interference)

9

FogeltheVogel t1_j2jsd1p wrote

What reason do you have for thinking that it might? Radiation and glass aren't exactly similar in any way, and it might be easier to properly answer your question if we knew why you ask.

7

Netroth t1_j2junh8 wrote

Physical things do physical things. Radiation radiates and is disqualified from the question.

3

PogostickPower t1_j2jqhkc wrote

A couples of questions to clarify:

  1. Are you talking about radiactive materials, or the EM waves being transmitted from them?
  2. If it's the EM waves: Are you thinking of destructive interference rather than cavitation?
  3. What do you mean by "away"? Do you mean moving/redirecting, or destroying/neutralizing? You mention rupturing but also black holes bending light, so I'm a bit confused.
6

December292022 t1_j2ljicn wrote

Cavitation is the process of creating and collapsing tiny bubbles or voids in a liquid, usually through the application of high-intensity sound waves. Cavitation can occur in various forms, such as ultrasonic cavitation and hydrodynamic cavitation. In the context of medicine, cavitation is used in procedures like histotripsy, lithotripsy, and oncotripsy to break up tissue or stones in the body using high-intensity ultrasound waves.

It's important to note that cavitation is a physical process that occurs in liquids and is not related to the phenomenon of electromagnetic (EM) radiation. EM radiation is a type of energy that travels through the vacuum of space or through various materials in the form of waves. EM radiation includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays.

Cavitation cannot be used to "rupture" or "cavitate away" EM radiation in the same way that it can be used to break up tissue or stones. Instead, EM radiation can be absorbed, reflected, refracted, or transmitted through various materials, depending on the properties of the material and the frequency of the radiation. It's also worth noting that EM radiation does not require a medium to travel through, unlike sound waves, which need a medium (such as a gas, liquid, or solid) to propagate.

1