But the times are changing. The growing popularity of high-priced multi-unit housing for the aging baby boomer generation is starting to focus a great deal of consumer attention on sound isolation. Knowing how to quiet plumbing noise is a powerful tool in this market.
Cavitation. As the name implies, cavitation is the production of cavities in the water. These cavities are small vacuum bubbles that quickly collapse under water pressure, producing a snapping sound. The collapse of thousands of these tiny cavities each second integrates to produce the familiar hissing of a half-opened faucet. In nature, snapping shrimp use cavitation to stun prey. When the shrimp closes its large claw, this creates a high velocity jet of water which produces several vacuum cavities. After the claw has shut, these cavities collapse in unison, producing the characteristic snap which stuns nearby prey.