Ultrasonic Cleaning
Ultrasonic cleaning sounds a little intimidating when you first hear it. To
be sure, this is not for your everyday, average cleaning missions. For instance,
you would never get an ultrasonic dishwasher or washing machine. At least not
yet.
Ultrasonic cleaning devices are used for cleaning small, extremely important
items. Their most common use is the cleaning of precious gems and stones.
Diamonds and gems must shine to their brightest if they are going to live up
to their full potential. And an ultrasonic cleaning is the way to get them gleaming. Even if you don't have any precious stones to clean, an ultrasonic cleaning device may still be useful to you.
How does Ultrasonic Cleaning Work?
It’s actually a fairly easy concept to understand. Think about the opera
singer that sings a note so high that it shatters a crystal glass. In this
case, the glass breaks because sound waves produced by the woman’s voice are
so strong that the particles of sand in the glass cannot hold it together.
Ultrasonic cleaning uses this same principle. If you have microscopic particles
of dirt on a precious gem, you can blast that stone with sound waves that produce
a vibration so strong that the dirt cannot hold together and therefore disintegrates.
The reason this works on diamonds and not on, let’s say, dishes is that
diamonds are some of the strongest materials on earth. Years of pressure have
made sure of that.
Other Uses
Ultrasonic cleaning can also be achieved through cavitation. This essential process occurs when you create vibrations in water that are so strong,
small bubbles form. These bubbles reach a critical point in which they
must break. When they do break, each one forms it own cavity that must be
filled with air.
The pressure created from the air will blast dirt and grime off of any surface.
Studies have shown that this method of cleaning is 30 to 40 per cent more
effective than cleaning with regular cleaning solutions.
It is also a great way to clean heterogeneous surfaces. These are surfaces
with small crevices and corners that a regular cleaning brush could never
get to.
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Learn more about ultrasonic cleaning in our DIY forum |
