Abstract
Explosions can be induced in mixtures of SF 6 with appropriate fuels, by a single pulse of a free running CO 2 laser \approx 1.5 \mu s [full width at half maximum (FWHM)]. A typical threshold for initiation of reaction was somewhat above 4 J for a 1:1 mixture of SF 6 and SiH 4 , at a total pressure of 10 torr, with the unfocused beam illuminating 8 cm2of cell area. High levels of luminosity were generated covering both the near ultraviolet, visible, and infrared. The spectral and temporal characteristics of the following fuels and fuel-oxidizer combinations (with SF 6 present) are summarized: the most prominent emitter from SiH 4 is S* 2 , B3 \Sigma-_{u} ; Sn(CH 3 ) 4 + N 2 O [SnO*; SnF*] ; Pb(CH 3 ) 4 + N 2 O [PbO*; PbF*; PbS*] ; Bi(CH 3 ) 3 + N 2 O [BiF*]; B 2 H 6 with and without N 2 O [BO*; BO* 2 ; S* 2 ]. Several atomic lines were also recorded. Estimates of the energy density deposited by the laser pulse suggest that initiation of rapid reaction was primarily due to attack of superexcited SF 6 by highly reducing radical species.
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