Streak Camera in Shock Wave Experiments

The operation of a rotating mirror streak camera and its applications to various problems in explosive shock wave research are described. This instrument, which has a time resolution of a few hundredths of a microsecond, can be used to detect the arrival of a shock wave at the free surface of an opaque solid, to measure shock and free surface velocities and to observe detonation waves in various explosive configurations. Examples of its use in equation of state measurements for opaque solids, velocity measurements for explosively driven plates, and shock velocity measurements in transparent solids and fluids are given. These examples illustrate the techniques for shock detection by means of argon gaps and for generation of high intensity lighting which are necessary in this work and point out some of the procedures used for analysis of the film records. The streak camera is frequently supplemented by electronic or framing camera observations and these and the techniques connected with them are briefly described.