PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF INTENSE MATTER WAVES 



61 



such that the elastic limit is exceeded, tearing can result. Thus 160 db will 

 rupture the eardrum itself, probably the toughest part of the soft tissue of 

 the whole organ! 



(2) At high frequencies, the compression occurs so fast that energy is 

 passed from the matter wave to the recipient molecules so rapidly that it 

 has no time to disperse through molecular vibrations. The molecule be- 

 comes phenomenally "hot" or energetic, and may fly apart. Thus chemical 

 bonds are broken (Figure 3-6 (a)). Water is decomposed to H 2 and H 2 2 . 



gas or steam 



irradiator 



metal pan 



liquid making 



contact with 



brain through 



hole in skull. 



(a) 



(b) 



Figure 3-6. (a) Cavitation and Production of Broken Water Molecules by Ultra- 

 sound. The OH fragment is a rapidly effective oxidizing agent, (b) Irradiation of a 

 Small Locale in the Brain. (Success with Parkinson's disease reported.) 



(3) During rarefaction (low-pressure part of the wave), any dissolved gas 

 in the tissue may coalesce into bubbles; and in fact bubbles containing only 

 water vapor may form, breaking molecular bonds as they form, and breaking 

 more bonds as they collapse and release their high surface energy. This is 

 called cavitation. It occurs in water at power levels as low as 140 db. This 

 critical power level decreases with increasing frequency. 



(4) With the breaking of bonds, free radicals are produced, which, for 

 reasons to be discussed in Chapter 4, cause a (net) oxidation reaction to 

 occur in most aqueous solutions. Three watts of power introduced at 

 500,000 cps, for example, will cause oxidation. 



(5) Because of general absorption of energy within the volume irradiated 

 with matter waves, a general temperature rise occurs. This upsets the 

 metabolism of the tissue in a manner discussed later in Chapter 8. Irradia- 

 tion by 1 megacycle (Mc) at a power of 50 w/cm 2 , for example, raises the 

 temperature of water from 20 to 50° C in a few minutes. 



Some specific observations of effects of sound waves on man are given in 

 Table 3-2. 



For obvious reasons, experiments using high-power sound are carefully 

 and selectively done on man. However, an accumulation of experience is 



