Cavitation

Sudden appearance of the gaseous phase (escape of dissolved gas or formation of the vapour phase) in a fluid due to a spontaneous pressure drop. If there are places in fluid streams where the static pressure falls below the temperature-dependent vapour pressure of the fluid, the fluid evaporates. The result is a vapour-filled cavity (cavern, cavitation). The caverns implode with increasing pressure; compression of the vapour results in very high temperatures and pressures.