Abstract:
Apparatus and a method for remotely determining the profile of fluid turbulence such, for example, as clear-air turbulence. The intensity of an acoustic wave passing through a liquid, such as water, or the intensity of an electromagnetic wave, such as light, passing through air is determined at a plurality of different locations. In the electromagnetic case this may be done by a set of spaced telescopes and photosensitive devices or by optically scanning the density of a previously exposed photographic plate. An electric signal representative of the intensity of the acoustic or electromagnetic wave is then developed, and a second electrical signal is obtained which is representative of the spatial correlation function of the fluctuations of the logarithm of the first electrical signal. Thus, specifically the logarithm of the intensity is taken and the spatial correlation of the fluctuations is derived. Finally, a third signal is derived from the second signal. This third signal is representative of the integro-differential transform of the second signal. This third signal then represents the desired profile of, for example, the clear-air turbulence.
Abstract:
A beam of accelerated microparticles of substantially uniform velocity is passed transversely through an intense pulsed laser beam. In traversing the laser beam, the microparticles are thermally evaporated by the energy of the laser beam to produce either a beam or an expanding cloud of atomic particles.