Experimental investigation of radiation heat waves driven by laser-induced Planck radiation

Abstract

The propagation of a radiation heat wave through a thin foil of solid gold was investigated experimentally. The wave is driven by the intense thermal radiation in 1--3-mm-diam gold cavities heated by an intense laser pulse (duration 0.8--0.9 ns, wavelength 0.35 \ensuremath{\mu}m) to temperatures ranging from 80 to 240 eV. Evidence of the propagating wave was obtained from the delayed onset of thermal emission from the outer side of the foil. A detailed comparison of the results with the self-similar solution for the ablative heat wave and with numerical simulations is presented.