Kerr constant of water

Measurements are conducted of the Kerr constant of ultrapure water with resistivity 10⁷ · cm. Values of the Kerr constant of (3.26 ± 0.10) · 10^-7 and (2.29 ± 0.07) · 10^-7 esu were obtained at a temperature of 30 °C for wavelengths of 441.6 nm and 632.8 nm.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 1, pp. 157–160, January–February, 1976.The authors wish to express their appreciation to D. D. Ryutov for useful discussion.