Shock-induced transformation of liquid deuterium into a metallic fluid
Simultaneous measurements of shock velocity and optical reflectance at 1064, 808, and 404 nm of a high pressure shock front propagating through liquid deuterium show a continuous increase in reflectance from below 10% and saturating at approximately (40-60)% in the range of shock velocities from 12 to 20 &mgr;m/ns (pressure range 17-50 GPa). The high optical reflectance is evidence that the shocked deuterium reaches a conducting state characteristic of a metallic fluid. Above 20 &mgr;m/ns shock velocity (50 GPa pressure) reflectance is constant indicating that the transformation is substantially complete.
Celliers
PM
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551, USA.
Collins
GW
Da Silva LB
Gold
DM
Cauble
R
Wallace
RJ
Foord
ME
Hammel
BA