On the Production of Plasma by Giant Pulse Lasers

Calculations are presented which show that a laser pulse delivering powers of the order of 1010 W to a liquid or solid particle with dimensions of the order of 10−2 cm will produce a hot plasma with temperatures in the range of several hundred eV. To a large extent the plasma temperature is held down by its rapid expansion and cooling. This converts much of the energy supplied into ordered energy of expansion. This ordered expansion energy can amount to several keV per ion. If the expanding plasma can be caught in a magnetic field and its ordered motion converted to random motion this might be utilized as a means for filling controlled thermonuclear fusion devices with hot plasma. Further, it should also be possible to do many interesting plasma experiments on such plasmas.