In this paper, I propose that the cavitation threshold in a flowing liquid could be associated with the maximum tension that the fluid can sustain before undergoing cohesive fracture at a certain point. My criterion is not isotropic; I believe that a liquid will break if the tension in one direction exceeds a threshold, independent of the value of the other principal stresses. I also believe that if a liquid breaks, it is a cohesive fracture in which the liquid molecules disassociate into vapor and recondense as mist.

• Received 27 October 1994

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.51.R1649