A highly approximate but simple model of the interaction of a supernova blast wave with an interstellar cloud is described. This is used to explore the behaviour of a cloud when exposed to conditions prevalent in a violent interstellar medium. We find that having been shocked a cloud is rarely allowed sufficient time to return to pressure equilibrium with its surroundings before encountering a second shock. Significant departures from pressure equilibrium are therefore inevitable. The disruption of a cloud by its passage through a blast wave is quite effective and the half life of clouds cannot greatly exceed the mean interval between shocks striking a given cloud. In particular, we find that composite core-envelope clouds are not viable under typical conditions. Results for the net rates of thermal evaporation and PV work are also presented.
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Heathcote et al. (1983) studied this question.
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