Experimental study of the behavior of two laser produced plasmas in air
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi 710049 (China)
The interactions among two laser ablated Al plasmas and their shock wave fronts (SWFs) induced by double laser pulses in air were studied experimentally. The evolution processes, including the expansion and interaction of the two plasmas and their shocks, were investigated by laser shadowgraphs, schlieren images, and interferograms. Remarkably, the distribution of the compressed air and the laser plasmas during the colliding process was clearly obtained using the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. From the refractive index profiles, typical plasmas density and gas density behind the shock front were estimated as ∼5.2 × 10{sup 18 }cm{sup −3} and ∼2.4 × 10{sup 20 }cm{sup −3}. A stagnation layer formed by the collision of gas behind the shock front is observed. The SWFs propagated, collided, and reflected with a higher velocity than plasmas. The results indicated that the slower plasma collided at middle, leading to the formation of the soft stagnation.
- OSTI ID:
- 22490020
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 7; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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