Thermal Radiation Characteristics of Xenon Flashtubes

Thermal radiative properties of xenon flashtubes have been studied by measuring radiant energies per flash and peak irradiances incident on small objects located at the center of selected helical flashtubes. Methods are described for determining these properties by employing blackbody calorimeters in conjunction with oscilloscopic presentation of intensity vs time. Thermal pulses were found to be quite reproducible and are of the order of 1.0 to 1.7 cal per cm2 per 1000 J of electrical input energy depending on the type of flashtube. Peak irradiances of over 7000 cal/cm−2sec−1 were observed. Some electrical characteristics of the flashtubes such as current and resistance were included in the measurements.