Abstract
A long plasma channel, formed due to the dynamic balance between the nonlinear self-focusing and the plasma defocusing in the propagation of intense femtosecond laser pulses in air, is demonstrated to be able to continuously propel a paper airplane without complicated focusing optics. The maximum coupling coefficient generated by the plasma channel is found to be more than 8.5 dyne/W. In the plasma channel, the detonation wave generation with the air ionization is found to be the propulsive source.
Highlights
Research in resent years on the laser plasma propulsion has gained much attention due to many advantages over other conventional methods of producing thrust [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
The propulsive source comes from a laser supported-detonation wave generated with the air ionization [3]
We propose a new scheme of “laser plasma channel propulsion”, in which a long plasma channel generated by intense femtosecond laser pulses in air is served as a propulsive power
Summary
Research in resent years on the laser plasma propulsion has gained much attention due to many advantages over other conventional methods of producing thrust [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Y. Wei, “Acoustic diagnostics of plasma channels induced by intense femtosecond laser pulses in air,” Chin. Mourou, “ Self-channeling of high-peak-power femtosecond laser pulses in air,” Opt. Lett.
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