Chapter 17, Problem 31P

GO When you “crack” a knuckle, you suddenly widen the knuckle cavity, allowing more volume for the synovial fluid inside it and causing a gas bubble suddenly to appear in the fluid. The sudden production of the bubble, called “cavitation,” produces a sound pulse — the cracking sound. Assume that the sound is transmitted uniformly in all directions and that it fully passes from the knuckle interior to the outside. If the pulse has a sound level of 62 dB at your ear, estimate the rate at which energy is produced by the cavitation.