IFEVA 02662
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES FISIOLOGICAS Y ECOLOGICAS VINCULADAS A LA AGRICULTURA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Natural and laser-induced cavitation in corn stems: on the mechanisms of acoustic emissions
Autor/es:
FERNÁNDEZ, E; FERNÁNDEZ, R. J.; BILMES, G. M.
Revista:
Papers in Physics
Editorial:
Instituto de Física de Líquidos y Sistemas Biológicos
Referencias:
Lugar: La Plata; Año: 2012 vol. 4 p. 400031 - 400038
ISSN:
1852-4249
Resumen:
Water in plant xylem is often superheated, and therefore in a meta-stable state. Undercertain conditions, it may suddenly turn from the liquid to the vapor state. This cavitationprocess produces acoustic emissions. We report the measurement of ultrasonic acousticemissions (UAE) produced by natural and induced cavitation in corn stems. We inducedcavitation and UAE in vivo, in well controlled and reproducible experiments, by irradiat-ing the bare stem of the plants with a continuous-wave laser beam. By tracing the sourceof UAE, we were able to detect absorption and frequency ltering of the UAE propagat-ing through the stem. This technique allows the unique possibility of studying localizedembolism of plant conduits, and thus to test hypotheses on the hydraulic architecture ofplants. Based on our results, we postulate that the source of UAE is a transient cavityoscillation" triggered by the disruptive e ect of cavitation inception.
