A study has been made of the change in the structure of a shock wave i
n a decaying discharge plasma with;Mach numbers between 1.2 and 2. A n
ovel method is proposed to investigate the rearrangement of the shock
wave structure under transient conditions. The times of the main proce
sses responsible for this effect are determined. (C) 1997 American Ins
titute of Physics. [S1063-7850(97)00404-7].