New heartbeat phenomenon, and the concept of 2-D optical turbulence

Abstract

A new heartbeat phenomenon (HB2), produced when a laser beam travels vertically upward through a shallow pool of absorbing liquid, is described. The HB2 is compared with a previously reported similar heartbeat (HB1) obtained when a laser beam travels horizontally near and under the free surface of an absorbing liquid. The main difference between both phenomena is that the HB1 permits us to observe the transition to what we call 2-D optical turbulence, while the HB2 does not.