Research on MHD Lasers.

Abstract

A summary is presented of progress in a study of nonequilibrium generators, with emphasis on the vibrational excitation of molecular species. Experimental work on a large generator includes development of a coaxial preionizer and development of slanted electrode walls, both of which increase the power density of the generator. A pulsed analogue of an MHD laser has been constructed and operated providing data on the importance of CO2 dissociation in MHD lasers. A theoretical study of the interaction of electrothermal instabilities and the lasing radiation field has been made. It has been found that electrothermal instabilities grow faster in the presence of a lasing radiation field than without and that the electrothermal instabilities lead to extreme nonuniformity of the lasing radiation field. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1972
Accession Number
AD0745986

Entities

People

  • Jack L. Kerrebrock

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Analogs
  • Dissociation
  • Electrodes
  • Excitation
  • Generators
  • Instability
  • Radiation

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy