Cavitation bubbles amplify mantis shrimp strikes into deadly shock waves
Evidence
The limbs of mantis shrimp (and the related “pistol” shrimp) sweep through the water so fast they create explosive vacuums in their wake. The gaps they leave behind them as they move pull dissolved gasses out of the water into cavitation bubbles. These bubbles release additional energy with a crack when they collapse. This audible pop is both loud and deadly—a noise topping 220 decibels and a flash with temperatures approaching that of the sun (8,500°F). Although the flashes from these cavitation bombs are too small to see, the shock waves they generate can stun nearby fish. The combined impact of an incredibly swift strike, followed by the explosive release of energy from collapsing cavitation bubbles, can crush the exoskeletons or shells of prey instantly. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 120
Categorization
- SEED: Marvel-of-nature angle: a thumbnail-size crustacean generating solar-surface temperatures and 220-decibel noise underwater.
- XREF: Ties to the reader’s soundscape/natural-silence interests: animal-produced sound as an extreme acoustic phenomenon. — connects to: Mantis shrimp strike at sixty miles per hour using stored elastic recoil.; Mantis shrimp use a latch-and-spring click mechanism to strike at extreme speed underwater — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 119