This article is cited in 17 papers

Interaction of laser radiation with matter. Laser plasma

Role of a dissolved gas in the optical breakdown of water

N. F. Bunkin^a, S. I. Bakum<sup>b

a</sup> Wave Research Center of Prokhorov General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
^b Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

Abstract: It is shown experimentally that the optical breakdown in water produced by nanosecond pulses is initiated by a gas dissolved in it due to the formation of bubston clusters playing the role of heterogeneous seeds of the breakdown. By using the method proposed in the paper, a completely degassed water is obtained, which is optically stable to the seed mechanism of breakdown both away and near the boiling point. The existence of long-lived hydrates of a dissolved gas in water is established and a new effect of water purification from such hydrate traps by 'washing' it with helium is discovered.

PACS: 61.25.Em, 62.50.+p, 81.20.Ym

Received: 10.08.2005
Revised: 08.12.2005

 English version: Quantum Electronics, 2006, 36:2, 117–124

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