Accession Number:
AD0745986
Title:
Research on MHD Lasers.
Descriptive Note:
Annual technical progress rept. Jan-Aug 71,
Corporate Author:
MASSACHUSETTS INST OF TECH CAMBRIDGE SPACE PROPULSION LAB
Personal Author(s):
Report Date:
1972-03-01
Pagination or Media Count:
60.0
Abstract:
A summary is presented of progress in a study of nonequilibrium generators, with emphasis on the vibrational excitation of molecular species. Experimental work on a large generator includes development of a coaxial preionizer and development of slanted electrode walls, both of which increase the power density of the generator. A pulsed analogue of an MHD laser has been constructed and operated providing data on the importance of CO2 dissociation in MHD lasers. A theoretical study of the interaction of electrothermal instabilities and the lasing radiation field has been made. It has been found that electrothermal instabilities grow faster in the presence of a lasing radiation field than without and that the electrothermal instabilities lead to extreme nonuniformity of the lasing radiation field. Author
Descriptors:
Subject Categories:
- Lasers and Masers
- Plasma Physics and Magnetohydrodynamics