Determination of acoustic power outputs in the microwatt-milliwatt range

A system using an electrobalance for radiation pressure measurements has been developed capable of determining acoustic powers in the microwatt-milliwatt range. Low background “noise” levels are achieved by effective isolation of the balance from building vibrations and shielding the target from convection currents. The standard deviation for a power output of 1 mW is typically less than 1 percent.