Launching by cavitation

作者：Dalei Wang, Zixiao Liu, Hongping Zhao, Huanqi Qin, Gongxun Bai, Chi Chen, Pengju Shi, Yingjie Du, Yusen Zhao, Wei Liu, Dan Wang, Guoquan Zhou, Ximin He, Chao‐Qing Dai · 发表于：Science · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1126/science.adu8943 · 被引用次数：61 · 研究领域：Underwater Vehicles and Communication Systems、Fluid Dynamics Simulations and Interactions、Micro and Nano Robotics

Cavitation, characterized by formation of vapor bubbles in a low-pressure or high-temperature region of a liquid, is often destructive, but it can be harnessed for actuators and robots. We exploit cavitation to accumulate substantial energy in superheated liquids by suppressing its immediate release until reaching a stability limit. The energetic, unstable bubbles collapse violently, producing a burst of high power and force that initiates motion. Notably, a millimeter-scale device launched by cavitation can jump to a height of 1.5 meters—reaching a 12 meters per second (m/s) peak velocity, a 7.14 × 10 4 m/s 2 acceleration, and a 0.64% energy efficiency—and can also swim on water at 12 centimeters per second. Cavitation-based launching works with a broad range of device materials, liquid media, stimuli, and operational environments.