CUMULATION, COLLISIONS, AND FLOW AROUND F AST GAS JETS IN LASER-ABLATION OF SURFACES AND IN EXPLOSIONS OF THIN-FILMS OF MATTER - PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Experiments were carried out on the cumulation, collisions, and flow a round vapour jets at velocities of (1-2). 10(6) cm/s. The jets were fo rmed by the action of high-power laser pulses incident on a concave or flat surface of a thin metallised film or a bulk target in vacuum. St rong cumulation was observed in explosions of a cylindrical surface: t he jet cross section was reduced by a factor of 30 - 40. A study was m ade of the collisions of counterpropagating jets at a selected point a nd of the flow, around gas jets, of counterpropagating larger jets. St rong erosion tracks, formed by focused jets on solids, were observed. These results should be useful in the following applications: modellin g of aerodynamic processes; filling of plasma traps; avoidance of plas ma contamination by walls; interaction with matter; formation of stron g welds and coatings; heating, compression, and acceleration of macrop articles of matter.