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An acoustical technique for measuring a known function of the adiabatic compressibility and density of a very small liquid sample (4×10−6 −4×10−3 ml) has been developed. The technique involves a comparison of the conditions required for the acoustic levitation of the sample at a given position in a known, immiscible ’’host’’ liquid and the levitation of a reference droplet of known properties at the same position. Since the success of this technique depends on the predictions of the theory for the ’’Acoustic Radiation Pressure on a Compressible Sphere’’ K. Yosioka and Y. Kawasima, Acustica 5, 167–173 (1955) as applied to instances when buoyancy and acoustic forces balance, it was decided to test the validity of the procedure by using liquids of known properties so that a comparison with our results would be possible. Using the known density ρ, the experiment plus theory allows us to calculate the adiabatic compressibility βs and the sound speed = (1/ρβs)1/2. Results for the sound speed of a number of common organic liquids (n-pentane, benzene, n-hexane, O-xylene, and toluene) are within 2% of the results of traditional measurements. Two particularly attractive features of this procedure are that (1) the results are independent of droplet size and (2) the parameters of the sound field need not be known. This technique should be directly applicable to measurements of properties of superheated and supercooled liquids. Subject Classification: 4335.24.
Robert E. Apfel (Sun,) studied this question.