Studies of N Waves from Weak Sparks in Air.

Abstract

The report summarizes work performed at Kalamazoo College during the period 1962-1970 on the study of acoustic transients in air. The major portion of this research was a many faceted study of the acoustic transients produced in air by weak sparks. The spark energies were in the range 0.0016 - 0.56 J, and the acoustic waveforms resembled N waves with durations of 10 - 40 microseconds and amplitudes of the order of 0.01 atmosphere. These waveforms were observed by means of wide-band condenser microphones. It was possible to reproduce a weak shock with a rise time as short as 1/2 microseconds. Topics investigated include the dependence of acoustic waveform upon propagation direction, spark length, and discharge energy; the distortion of the wave profile with propagation distance; and the diffraction and scattering of N waves from rectangular plates, circular discs, and cylindrical rods. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1971
Accession Number
AD0725865

Entities

People

  • Wayne M. Wright

Organizations

  • Kalamazoo College

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amplitude
  • Atmospheres
  • Diffraction
  • Distortion
  • Microphones
  • Microsecond Time
  • Scattering
  • Waveforms
  • Waves

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Acoustics.
  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.