Spectroscopic Temperature Measurements on Laser-Produced Flames

Abstract
Time‐integrated spectroscopic intensity measurements have been made on the flame produced by the interaction of a focused ruby laser with powdered solids. Target materials used were Ba(AlO2)2, CaS, C, and Al microspheres. Excitation temperatures of 24 000° and 9000°K have been inferred from the Ba and Ca spectra. Vibrational and rotational temperatures for AlO, C2, and CN were found to lie in the range of 3600° to 5600°K. It is probable that excitation of the atomic and molecular spectra result from collisions between the emitting species and free electrons which have been superheated by absorption of a small fraction of the laser‐beam energy.