Observations of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability in laser imploded microballoons

Abstract

Mass-modulated plastic microballoons have been ablatively imploded by green (0.53 μm) laser light at an absorbed irradiance of 2×1013 W cm−2. Temporally growing spikes are seen on the outside surface of the target; evidence of the occurrence of mass redistribution indicates that the spikes are due to the Rayleigh–Taylor instability. A growth rate of 0.52±0.06 of classical has been inferred.