Prospects for Optical Probing of the Rayleigh-Taylor Instability in Ablatively-Accelerated Foil Targets.

Abstract

Optical probing of non-uniformities is promising as a diagnostic of the Rayleigh-Taylor (R-T) instability. A study was made on an ablatively accelerated target which was designed to provide known initial conditions for the growth of the instability. Two diagnostic techniques were simultaneously used. A side-on, dark-field shadowgram (third harmonic) showed periodic structure in the steep-gradient region on the rear side of the accelerating target. The angular scatter pattern (second harmonic probe) from the front side was consistent with an expected periodic structure in the high-density region. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 21, 1983
Accession Number
ADA129723

Entities

People

  • Barrett H. Ripin
  • Edgar A. McLean
  • Jacob Grün
  • John A. Stamper
  • Stephen P.P. Obenschain

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Absorption
  • Diffraction
  • Focal Planes
  • High Density
  • Instability
  • Laser Beams
  • Laser Pulses
  • Lasers
  • Materials
  • Military Research
  • Radiation
  • Rayleigh Taylor Instability
  • Reflection
  • Scattering
  • Short Wavelengths
  • Specular Reflection
  • X Rays

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.