Floating laser capable of long-distance propagation
A team of researchers at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has demonstrated that a laser acoustic source they have developed is capable of long-distance acoustic propagation and shock generation.
The tests, performed at the Lake Glendora Test Facility of Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane, expanded on earlier laboratory research on pulsed-laser propagation through the atmosphere.
Using a pulsed Nd:YAG (Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet) 532-nanometre-wavelength laser housed in a floating platform, pulses were directed by steering mirrors down through a focusing lens and into the water surface.
Each laser pulse produced an acoustic pulse with a sound pressure level of approximately 190 decibels (dBs), which was detected and measured by boat-mounted hydrophones at distances up to 140 metres. Prior laboratory acoustic propagation distances were limited to about three metres.
The driving laser pulse has the ability to travel through both air and water, so that a compact laser on either an underwater or airborne platform could be used for remote acoustic generation.
A properly tailored laser pulse has the ability to travel many hundreds of metres through air, remaining relatively unchanged, then quickly compress upon entry into the water.
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