APPLICATION OF HOOK-METHOD SPECTROSCOPY TO THE DIAGNOSIS OF SHOCK-HEATED GASES.
Abstract
The history of the hook method and allied interferometric techniques which employ the dispersion of atomic media is described together with an explanation of the formation of the fringes along the spectrum and the reason for their hooked appearance about an absorption line. The peculiar advantages of these techniques, which have proved themselves as important and accurate methods of measuring oscillator strengths, are discussed from the point of view of obtaining populations of energy states in a gaseous medium. Examples of their application to the study of shock waves and shock-like produced plasmas are given. Other experiments which employ dispersion methods are also described concluding with possibilities of more novel applications.