ultrasonic cleaning.
a simple explanation.
An ultrasonic cleaner is like a relaxing bubblebath.
In a jaccuzzi.
Powered by hi-fi speakers.
Playing speed metal at full blast.
The Visonic Dome uses the incredible power of ultrasonic sound waves to clean your contact lenses – so you don’t have to.
But what exactly is an ultrasonic cleaner? How does it work? And why is ultrasonic cleaning better than other cleaning methods?
what is ultrasound?
Stop. Listen.
Do you hear it?
Everything you hear – the ticking of a clock, the bustling traffic outside, the waves crashing on the shore – is the result of sound waves buzzing through the air. We call those vibrations “oscillations.”
After some mechanical action,
(like, if someone snaps their fingers)
vibrations move away from the source via oscillating air molecules.
The vibrations pass from one air molecule to the next, like a runner’s baton in a relay race, until they reach the air in your ears.
Then you sense it as sound.
We measure the frequency of sound waves in hertz (Hz). Humans can hear within a range of 20 Hz – 16,000 Hz.
And depending on how quickly the air molecules oscillate within that range, we hear different pitches.
A low pitch comes from a sound wave that oscilates more slowly. A high pitch is a sound wave that’s oscilating more quickly.
But when a sound is oscillating at a frequency higher than 16,000 Hz, we can no longer hear it. It is too “high pitched” for our ears. We call that level of sound wave frequency ‘Ultrasound.’
Ultrasound is exactly like normal sound, but the frequency of the oscillation is much higher - so high that humans can't hear it.
can you handle the pressure?
When sound vibrates through a medium like air or water, the oscillating molecules are pushed together and pulled apart. That means there’s a change in pressure.
Imagine the pressure changes like Sabrina’s cat Salem playing an accordian, where each of his paws represents a water molecule.
As Salem pulls the accordian apart, pressure decreases because the water molecules move away from each other. When Salem pushes the accordian back together, that reverses. Pressure increases as the water molecules get closer together.
With ultrasonic vibrations, that pressure change happens rapidly. The water molecules oscillate at a high frequency – Salem just goes to town on that accordian.
And where there’s a rapid change in water pressure, there’s a little something magical happening that we call… cavitation.
captivated by cavitation.
SciShow's simple explanation of cavitation.
Cavitation is what makes ultrasonic cleaning special.
When ultrasonic waves pass through a liquid, the intense pressure traps microscopic gas pockets – “bubbles.” As those bubbles are stretched and compressed (like in the middle of Salem’s accordian), the pressure on those bubbles becomes so great that they “pop” – or more accurately, they collapse.
The energy of that collapsing bubble can create shockwaves – like supersonic jets – and temperatures that are as high as 15,000 Kelvin, or about 27,000 degrees farenheit – hotter than the surface of the sun.
That kind of power is potentially destructive.
Rapid changes in water pressure create tiny gas bubbles with huge power.
Boat propellers need to be replaced because cavitation actually chips away at the steel blades. And as Hank Green describes in the video above, some animals even harness the power of cavitation to kill their prey.
In an ultrasonic cleaner, the ultrasonic frequencies are specially calibrated so that those microscopic bubbles are created millions of times every second.
In the Visonic Dome, the force of the implosions is what blasts all the dirt off of your contact lenses, leaving them super clean and comfy.
creating cavitation on demand.
At the heart of an ultrasonic cleaner is the transducer.
A transducer is a device that converts energy from one form into another.
Sonically speaking, a microphone is a transducer. It turns sound waves into a digital recording. A soundspeaker is also a transducer. It does the opposite of a microphone, turning an electric signal into a vibration that we hear as music.
In an ultrasonic cleaner, a transducer converts electric power into sound waves, like a speaker. But these transducers are designed to oscillate at ultrasonic frequencies - and create cavitation.
The number and size of the bubbles can be calibrated by oscillating the liquid molecules at different frequencies.
Lower frequencies are used for industrial cleaning because they create fewer, larger bubbles that are more powerful.
When cleaning more delicate objects, like contact lenses, higher frequencies are better. The Visonic Dome cleans with a oscillation frequency of 63,000 Hz. Those create more, smaller bubbles that can clean effectively without causing any damage.
ultrasonic - a better way to clean.
Powerful, yet gentle.
Clean your contacts on a microscopic level. Ultrasound is strong enough to remove dirt, dust, grime, and biofilms, but without the risk of ripping your lenses like when you rub them between your fingers.
Predictably consistent.
Ultrasonic cleaning is thorough every time. Even the tough-to-clean rim of the contact lens is never missed.
No harsh chemicals.
The Visonic Dome is clinically proven to be as effective as the leading enzymatic cleaners, but works with your current multipurpose disinfecting solution.
Hands-free convenience.
Just push one button to get a professional-level clean at home. Using the Visonic Dome is as easy as storing your contacts away for the night.
clean like they do
in the future.
Are you still rubbing your contact lenses between your fingers like a neanderthal? Get cleaner contacts the easy way, courtesy of high-frequency vibrations. Totally, technologically, hands-free. Like a modern human being should.
You can pre-order your own ultrasonic contact lens cleaner for just $99 – but only if you act fast. Click through now so you don’t miss out before the assembly line stops forever.
