Quick Shot

Absolute equation-of-state (EOS) measurements of porous, hydrocarbon-based foams have been carried out on the OMEGA EP Laser System. The experiment uses a target composed of a plastic ablator, a metal pusher, and a resorcinol formaldehyde foam located inside a plastic tube. The target is driven by a high-energy laser pulse, driving a shock wave into the foam and compressing it. By measuring the pusher and shock velocities inside the foam, absolute EOS data can be obtained. A backlighter target using a metal foil is energized by a second set of laser beams, creating an x-ray source for imaging the foam dynamics. Essential to this measurement is the PJX imager (PJXI), which employs a high-speed x-ray streak camera (PJX) coupled with a monochromatic, slit x-ray imager nose cone. Research Engineer Chad Mileham is shown mounting the imaging nose cone to the PJX streak camera prior to the experiments.