Observation of Laser-induced Explosion of Solid Materials and Correlation with Theory

A high speed framing camera was used to record the sequential steps of the start, development, and cessation of a highly energetic plume of matter caused by a ruby laser pulse of intensity of the order of 10(7) W/cm(2) on alumina ceramic and copper materials. The results of the experiments have established that the laser intensity and a normalized absorption coefficient are the two most important factors to be considered for any material removal process such as hole drilling. This study has provided the experimental support of a theoretical analysis on laser-induced vaporization and explosion of solid material, developed and published previously.