Experiments on Sonoluminescence: Possible nuclear and QED aspects and optical applications.

An experimental program aimed at testing some hypothesis about the nature of Single Bubble Sonoluminescence (SBSL) is proposed. A possibility to search for micro-traces of thermonuclear neutrons is discussed, with the aid of an original low-background neutron counter operating in the condition of the deepest shielding from Cosmic and other sources of background. Besides, some signatures of QED-contribution to the light emission in SBSL are under consideration, as well as new approaches to probe the temperature inside the bubble. An applied-physics portion of the program is presented also, in which attention is being paid to single- and a few-pulse light sources on the basis of SBSL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]