Creating Pressure Wave from EM Radiation: No Explosives

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter plutoisacomet
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Em Pressure Wave
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the feasibility of generating a pressure wave from electromagnetic radiation, specifically focusing on inward-traveling waves from a spherical surface without the use of explosives. The context includes theoretical considerations and potential applications in fields like fusion.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the possibility of creating a pressure wave from electromagnetic radiation that converges at a central point from a spherical surface, explicitly excluding explosive methods.
  • Another participant references attempts at laser-induced fusion as a related concept.
  • A further contribution clarifies that while photon pressure is dependent on photon energy and intensity, in inertial confinement fusion, the pressure is primarily generated through the ablation of an outer layer due to rapid heating rather than directly from photon pressure.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants have not reached a consensus on the feasibility of the proposed method, and multiple perspectives on the mechanisms involved remain present.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the dependence on specific definitions of pressure and the mechanisms by which electromagnetic radiation might generate pressure waves, which are not fully resolved.

plutoisacomet
Messages
89
Reaction score
0
Hello, is it possible to create a pressure wave from any form of electromagnetic radiation that travels inward to a central point emanating from a spherical surface.

Also, the pressure wave must not be produced from explosives that are imploding.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
You are describing the attempts at laser induced fusion.
 
plutoisacomet said:
Hello, is it possible to create a pressure wave from any form of electromagnetic radiation that travels inward to a central point emanating from a spherical surface.

Also, the pressure wave must not be produced from explosives that are imploding.
The pressure due to photons depends on the energy of the photons and the intensity (number of photons) or flux (number of photons/unit area).

In the inertial confinement scheme using lasers (and even electron beams), it is not the pressure from photons, but the ablation of an outer layer as a consequence of rapid heating and energy deposition that provides the pressure (impulse) on the fuel target.
 
Thanks guys!
 

Similar threads

Graduate Origin of the "underpressure" or "negative phase" in a blast wave
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
Undergrad Does two-slit sound-wave interference pattern return to original form?
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
Undergrad Sound pressure and inverse distance law
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
Undergrad What happens when an explosion occurs on the surface of the moon?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
Graduate Model the pressure of a zero-gravity simple fluid system
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
1K
Graduate About the propagation of sound
  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
4K
Undergrad Pressure Required to propel something a long distance
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Undergrad Stationary waves in a vertical rope
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
Graduate Exactly how do pressure waves work at the molecular level?
  • · Replies 49 ·
2
Replies
49
Views
5K
Undergrad Are 1D Longitudinal Waves Reflected at an Open End?
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K