Current state of the theory of local electrification of cavitation bubbles

The fundamental propositions of the theory of local electrification of cavitation bubbles, which explains the phenomena of sonoluminescence (SL) and sonochemical reactions, are outlined. Key debatable questions are answered. It is shown that, unlike thermal theories, the local electrification theory agrees with a vast body of experimental data for cavitation clouds. The following experimental results that support this theory are considered: the decisive role of electrokinetic phenomena in initiation of SL, the presence of lines and bands in SL spectra of ultrasonically and laser-induced bubbles in their deformation and splitting, results of experiments with SL quenchers, the asymmetric-in-time profile of SL bursts, the SL at small pulsations of bubbles, etc.