The effects of heat and light on chemical reactions have long been known and un- derstood. Ultrasound has been known to promote chemical reactions for the past 60 years, but despite this, it did not attract the attention of synthetic chemists until recently. This arose historically from early studies which concentrated almost exclu- sively on reactions in aqueous media and was also, in some measure, due to the availability of suitable technology. Since the early 1980s a plethora of literature has appeared of direct interest to synthetic chemists and the field has been developing rapidly. The...