Spectral Shifts in the Fluorescence of Anthracene and Lifetime Changes in Crystal Violet Under Laser Driven Shock Compression: Probes of Pressure and Viscosity

Abstract

Compressional shock waves produce rapid simultaneous jumps in temperature and pressure in materials that may lead to unusual chemical and physical behavior¹. Optical techniques such as absorption spectroscopy² and stimulated raman spectroscopy³ have been used to obtain information, at a molecular level, on changes in the material behind the shock front. Traditional techniques used to generate shock waves and optically probe the shocked regions involve the use of gas guns or explosive charges and mechanical synchronization of the interrogating light pulse. These techniques are well developed and have provided a vast amount of high-quality data on the physics and chemistry of shock loaded materials. These techniques do have certain drawbacks: they destroy the sample, the data rates are very low and the time resolution is limited.