Visualization of a high-speed,luminous plasma jet using a focusing schlieren technique

The near-field structure of a luminous, high-speed plasma jet was visualized using a stroboscopic focussing schlieren technique. The glow from the jet and the effects of convective currents in the enclosure are overcome by this method thus providing greater details of the near-exit region of the jet.The work was supported by the National Science Foundation under the grant # NSF-DDM-9215846. The authors would like to thank R. Gansert for his help in conducting the experiments.