The Scientific and Organizing Committees of 59th Open Seminar on Acoustics would like to present the abstracts of papers submitted for this conference. The Open Seminar on Acoustics (OSA) is an annual conference, the largest in the country which has been bringing Polish acousticians together for nearly sixty years. It is organized sequentially by different departments of Polish Acoustical Society (PTA) – in 2012 by the Poznań Division. The conference presents all sections of acoustics, such as: physical acoustics, technical acoustics, environmental acoustics, speech acoustics, hearing acoustics, musical acoustics, architectural acoustics, etc. The aim of the conference is to exchange scientific experience in the field of acoustics, promote science and integrate specialists from various fields.

The temperature dependence of the particle size distribution (PSD) of the magnetic fluid with an additional biocompatible dextran layer was studied using a ultrasonic method. The measurements of the ultrasound velocity and attenuation were carried out as a function of the volume concentration of magnetite particles at temperatures ranging from 15°C to 40°C. In order to extract the PSD from ultrasonic measurements, the theoretical model of Vinogradov-Isakovich was used. The extraction of PSD from the ultrasonic data requires also the measurements the density and viscosity of the ferrofluid samples. The calculated PSD of the magnetic fluid with an additional biocompatible layer shows a greater thermal stability than that of a magnetic fluid with a single surfactant layer.

Ultrasonic emulsifying processes of immiscible liquids can be used to obtain stable emulsions. The authors used an ultrasonic sandwich head with an energy concentrator to obtain a suitable value of the energy density necessary for the emerge of ultrasonic cavitation. Two piezoelectric ring (Dext = 50 mm) transducers of Pz-26 type produced by FERROPERM were used to design the ultrasonic sandwich head. The frequency of the ultrasonic wave was 18.4 kHz and the excitation time of the ultrasonic transducer exiting 5 minutes. Visible bubbles during the generation of ultrasonic waves appeared in the mixture after exceeding the cavitation threshold. The authors determined also the cavitation threshold by measuring the electrical voltage conducted to the transducers. To receive long-lasting emulsion, the electrical voltage attained 300 Vpeak. The dispersion dependence on the emulsifying time was determined. The emulsion of linseed oil and water was stable through some months without surfactants.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) synthesised chemically usually need the modification of the particle surface. Other natural sources of magnetic particles are various magnetotactic bacteria. Magnetosomes isolated from magnetotactic bacteria are organelles consisting of magnetite (Fe3O4) or greigite (Fe3S4) crystals enclosed by a biological membrane. Magnetotactic bacteria produce their magnetic particles in chains. The process of isolation of magnetosome chains from the body of bacteria consists of a series of cycles of centrifugation and magnetic decantation. Using a high-energy ultrasound it is possible to break the magnetosome chains into individual nanoparticles – magnetosomes. This study presents the effect of sonication of magnetosome suspension on their acoustic properties, that is speed and attenuation of the sound. Acoustic propagation parameters are measured using ultrasonic spectroscopy based on FFT spectral analysis of the received pulses. The speed and attenuation of ultrasonic waves in magnetosome suspensions are analysed as a function of frequency, temperature, magnetic field intensity, and the angle between the direction of the wave and the direction of the field.