A study is made of the penetration of shock waves from air into water.
The shock wave in air is generated as a result of dielectric breakdow
n induced by pulsed CO2-laser radiation. A combination of the double-e
xposure shadow method and holographic interferometry is used to measur
e the shock-wave parameters. Density and pressure profiles behind the
wave front are obtained at different times after onset of breakdown. I
t is shown experimentally that as the wave passes through the interfac
e from the air to the water, there is a fourfold amplification of the
pressure in the shock wave front. Estimates of the width of the shock
wave front formed in the water are given in the context of studies of
large-scale explosion processes. It is shown that simple empirical dep
endences, established in the course of studies of large-scale explosio
ns, are also valid with certain corrections for microscopic laboratory
experiments. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7842(98)0
0608-4].