Long electrical spark discharges have been directed through air along predetermined paths defined by a concentrated laser beam. At apparent optical power densities of 50–100 giga W/cm2, 35‐nsec half‐width laser pulses at 10 600 Å have been effective in channeling streamer discharges from a 350‐kV positively charged electrode for distances up to 28 cm in a total streamer length of 71 cm. The average E field required to obtain a discharge between electrodes was reduced from 7.3 to 5.5 kV/cm with the laser powers employed.
Topics
Streamer discharge
REFERENCES
1.
J. R.
Vaill
, T. D.
Wilkerson
, D. A.
Tidman
, and D. W.
Koopman
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
17
, 20
(1970
).2.
M. W. Uman, Lightning (McGraw‐Hill, New York, 1969).
3.
P.
Agostini
, J.
Bonnal
, G.
Mainfray
, C.
Manus
, and J.
Morellec
, Compt. Rend.
266B
, 790
(1968
).4.
V.
Chalmeton
and R.
Papoular
, Phys. Lett.
26A
, 579
(1968
).5.
S. A.
Akhmanov
, A. I.
Korrigin
, M. M.
Strukov
, and R. V.
Khokhlov
, JETP Lett.
1
, 25
(1965
).6.
C. S.
Naiman
, M. Y.
DeWolf
, I.
Goldblatt
, and J.
Schwartz
, Phys. Rev.
146
, 133
(1960
).7.
8.
V. I.
Vladimirov
, G. M.
Malyshev
, G. T.
Razdobarin
, and V. V.
Semenov
, Sov. Phys. Tech. Phys.
14
, 677
(1969
).9.
10.
A. G.
Akmanov
, L. W.
Rivlin
, and V. S.
Shildyaev
, JETP Lett.
8
, 258
(1968
).11.
Generator supplied by Lightning and Transients Research Institute, Miami, Fla.
12.
This content is only available via PDF.
© 1971 The American Institute of Physics.
1971
The American Institute of Physics
You do not currently have access to this content.