Investigations on a sonic spark chamber

Abstract

A 1 × 1 m2 sonic small-gap spark chamber using long piezoelectric microphones has been tested. The propagation of the cylindrical shock wave is characterized by an excess velocity[Formula: see text]For distances r from spark to microphone ranging from 0.1 to 1 m a Δv = const. × r−0.9±0.1 law is found. The error of spark location increases with r and is 0.35 and 0.55 mm at r = 0.1 and 1 m respectively. The influence of spacers on the propagation of the shock waves is discussed.