Scattering of optical radiation by fog water droplets

The behavior of local optical characteristics of an aerosol medium in the radiation field of a microsecond-pulse CO₂ laser is experimentally investigated. Using measurements of the scattering intensity of a sounding beam, the dynamics behind the formation of a propagation channel over the interaction time is studied for different energy densities, and the characteristic times over which the channel is clouding and clearing, the dimensions of the explosion products, and the degree of their evaporation are established. Scattering of radiation in the visual range by shock waves is observed that is caused by the gas-dynamic explosion of fog droplets.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 2, pp. 79–84, February, 1987.