Dynamic Nucleation of the Ice Phase in Supercooled Water

Experiments were carried out in which cavitating bubbles were produced by impact and by fast-travelling rods, and filmed by high speed photography. The experiments showed that cavitation is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for dynamic nucleation of the ice phase in the liquid. A temperature dependence was confirmed from nucleation threshold measurements. No attempt was made to confirm or disprove the various mechanisms proposed in the literature to explain freezing induced by cavitation.