Shock Wave from a Four-Meter Spark

Abstract

The shock wave emitted by a 4‐m spark of energy 2×10⁴ J has been measured at distances from spark midgap of between 0.34 and 16.5 m. Close to the spark, a single dominant shock wave is observed; farther from the spark, a number of significant shock waves (generally 3 or 4) are observed. For distances less than 2 m, both the shock overpressure and the duration of the overpressure are between a factor of 1.5 to 5 less than predicted by cylindrical shock‐wave theory. The discrepancies between the experimental data and cylindrical shock‐wave theory are partially explained by consideration of the spark channel tortuosity.