Turbulent electromagnetically driven flows play a major role in a broad range of metals processing operations which include induction furnaces, inductively stirred ladles, electro-slag refining, electroslag welding, the operation of aluminum smelters, and the like. Because the nature of the fluid flow in the melt has a strong effect on the rate processes in these sytems there has been a growing interest in the mathematical modelling of these operations.~-s However, notwithstanding some of the ingenious measurement techniques that have been devised, the predictions based on these models have yet to be completely verified. A detailed comparison of predicted and measured velocity fields and turbulence patterns in such systems would be of considerable fundamental and practical interests. Of fundamental interest, in particular, is the interaction between the electromagnetic force field and the turbulence patterns. This is not well understood, and it is possible, indeed likely, that this interaction may produce nontrivial results. Investigators of this problem have faced the following dilemma. One could either study the behavior of real molten metal systems, such as molten steel, woods metal or mercury but then settle for only partial results, such as surface velocity measurements or approximate values of the velocity field. 3,6,7-9 Alternatively, one could use transparent "model systems" such as water models, l° the circulation of which must by necessity be mechanically driven, and obtain quite accurate measurements employing laser Doppler anemometry.11 Under these conditions, however, the interaction between the electromagnetic and turbulence fields cannot be studied. The objective of the present work was to explore whether the powerful data acquisition capabilities of laser Doppler anemometry could be employed on a transparent fluid which could be put into motion electromagnetically. The electrical conductivity of molten salts occupies an intermediate positionbetween the values of aqueous electrolytes and molten metals; alkali halides are about 2 orders of magnitude more conductive than aqueous electrolytes. In addition, molten alkali halides are transparent to visible light. The questions to be resolved in the present work were whether such a melt could be put into motion by electromagnetic induction and whether a pair of low power heliumneon laser beams would penetrate the melt, interact with seed particles moving with the fluid, and emit a trackable Doppler signal. Fluid flow measurements in molten salt systems by laser Doppler anemometry had not been reported in the literature.