Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The sudden formation and collapse of low-pressure bubbles in liquids by means of mechanical forces, such as those resulting from rotation of a marine propeller.
  • noun The pitting of a solid surface.
  • noun Medicine The formation of cavities in a body tissue or an organ, especially those formed in the lung as a result of tuberculosis.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The formation of holes or cavities within an agitated liquid.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The formation of pits on a surface.
  • noun sciences The formation, in a fluid, of vapor bubbles that rapidly collapse; especially in a rotating marine propeller or pump impeller.
  • noun biology The formation of cavities in an organ, especially in lung tissue as a result of tuberculosis.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From cavity.]

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Examples

  • This process, called cavitation, can destroy a pump or cause it to deteriorate rapidly.

    1.1 The role and purpose of irrigation 1994

  • "At high speeds, something will happen called cavitation," he said.

    Bloomberg 2010

  • "At high speeds, something will happen called cavitation," he said.

    Bloomberg 2010

  • "At high speeds, something will happen called cavitation," he said.

    Bloomberg 2010

  • Researchers have reported results that suggest the possibility of nuclear reactions during the explosive collapse of bubbles in liquid, a process known as cavitation ...

    unknown title 2009

  • That kind of plooping sound the water makes pouring into the bowl is due in part to a process called cavitation (the making of a cavity), where air bubbles created by changes in pressure in the water oscillate and explode, creating teeny shock waves.

    Cocktail Party Physics Lee Kottner 2008

  • It is convenient to include "cavitation" within this term.

    The Aeroplane Speaks 1919

  • It is convenient to include "cavitation" within this term.

    The Aeroplane Speaks 1917

  • For your home, and using electiricy, you might want to look into the highly efficient "cavitation" water heaters and other inexpensive methods that basically come on only when you need hot water, and it is basically a special metal disk that spins in the water very fast with a motor.

    WN.com - Articles related to 40 ways to celebrate Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary 2010

  • For your home, and using electiricy, you might want to look into the highly efficient "cavitation" water heaters and other inexpensive methods that basically come on only when you need hot water, and it is basically a special metal disk that spins in the water very fast with a motor.

    WN.com - Articles related to 40 ways to celebrate Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary 2010

Comments

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  • "A hydrostatic seal provides control of a sealing surface taper as well as the cavitation reduction structure between the sealing surfaces. Control of sealing surfaces taper is provided through one or more relief recesses in the wall. Sounds complex, but it really isn’t."

    - Rocco Penn, 'Hydrostatic Seal: The Key to Walk-In Bathtubs', techscience.com, 4 Nov 2008.

    November 8, 2008

  • "Underwater, the prop whine and the cavitation of hundreds of thousands of air bubbles radiate outward into the ocean. The sound wraps around the foreshores of Newfoundland, refracts off the temperature discontinuity of the Gulf Stream, and dissipates into the crushing black depths beyond the continental shelf. Low frequency vibrations propagate almost forever underwater, and the throb of the Andrea Gail's machinery ust reach just about every life form on the Banks."

    —Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm, 1997 (NY: HarperCollins, 1999), 54

    August 18, 2009