Carbon Swan Spectra Measurements following Breakdown of Nitro Compound Explosive Simulants

Our measurements of micro-plasma following laser-induced optical breakdown of nitro compound explosive simulants, here 3-nitrobenzoic acid, show well-developed molecular spectra during the first several hundreds of nanoseconds. Analysis of recorded carbon spectra is accomplished using accurate line...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied spectroscopy 2014-03, Vol.68 (3), p.367-370
Main Authors: Witte, Michael J., Parigger, Christian G., Bullock, Nathan A., Merten, Jonathan A., Allen, Susan D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Breakdown
Carbon
Computation
Electron density
Explosions
Molecular spectra
Nitro compounds
Spectra
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Summary:Our measurements of micro-plasma following laser-induced optical breakdown of nitro compound explosive simulants, here 3-nitrobenzoic acid, show well-developed molecular spectra during the first several hundreds of nanoseconds. Analysis of recorded carbon spectra is accomplished using accurate line strengths for the diatomic molecular Swan system. Presence of hydrogen-beta allows us to infer electron density in the plasma evolution. Computational challenges include accounting for background variation and appropriate modeling of hydrogen embedded in molecular spectra. Recorded and computed spectra agree nicely for time delays on the order of 1.6 μs from optical breakdown when using a single temperature for local thermodynamic equilibrium plasma.
ISSN:0003-7028
1943-3530
DOI:10.1366/13-07230