Define cavitation and explain its effect on pump performance.

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Cavitation happens when the liquid pressure in a pump falls below its vapor pressure, causing tiny vapor bubbles to form. As these bubbles travel to higher-pressure regions or collide with moving parts, they collapse violently, creating shock waves, noise, and vibration. This collapse also causes localized erosion and pitting on impeller surfaces, which degrades resealings and clearances over time. The net effect is a drop in flow capacity and overall efficiency, along with increased wear and potential operational instability. Other ideas describe heating effects, solid erosion from particles, or a boiling-point change due to vacuum, but the defining feature of cavitation is vapor bubble formation and their violent collapse that disrupts pump performance.