An Investigation of the Self-Generated Magnetic Fields Associated with a Laser-Produced Plasma.
Abstract
A plasma was produced by irradiating a 5 mil thick Mylar (C10H8O4) foil with a 300 MW, 25 nsec Nd laser pulse. Magnetic fields were observed to spontaneously arise when the laser-produced plasma was formed. The dependence of the self-generated magnetic fields on position, time, incident laser power, and ambient background pressure was investigated. The strength of the magnetic field, as well as its spatial and temporal dependences, was found to depend quite strongly on the background pressure of nitrogen. Most significantly, the strength of the field increased by a factor of six when the pressure of the nitrogen background was increased from 1 mTorr to 200 mTorr. The results are analyzed by use of a theory in which the presence of a background gas influences the generating mechanism of the fields. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1972
- Accession Number
- AD0757247
Entities
People
- Leslie Lawrence Mckee Iii
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School