Number 209 (Story #2), January 8, 1995 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein CAN FUSION BE INITIATED BY SONOLUMINESCENCE? In sonoluminescence carefully tuned sound waves cause bubbles in a fluid to oscillate; in the collapsing part of this motion the bubbles emit short (50 psec) bursts of light, most likely by some implosion effect. At a recent meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Livermore physicist William Moss presented computer simulations which show that peak temperatures (as high as 1 million K) and pressures inside the bubbles could, with further experimental refinements, be sufficient to support nuclear fusion reactions. Experiments at several labs have not been able to measure such high temperatures; nor have they observed neutrons, an important product of nuclear fusion. One current experiment, at Livermore, is using bubbles filled with deuterium rather than air. (Science, 16 December 1994.)