A Survey of the Physics of Shock Waves in Solids

The concept of shock wave physics in solids is generalized to include thermal second sound shocks, electromagnetic shocks, as well as the more generally understood mass density shocks. It is speculated that thermal shocks may be made to occur in room temperature metals by causing a high power pulsed laser to impact on the metal surface. A laser pulse width of 10 to the minus 12th power seconds is derived for the effect to occur. The state-of-the-art with respect to understanding the compaction behavior of porous materials, the microscopic explanation of electromechanical effects shock polarization in a variety of media, and the state of our understanding of the physics of the detonation process is discussed.