| Abstract: | My talk will be about the obtaining extreme states of matter using strong converging shock waves generated by underwater electrical explosions of wire arrays. We use high-current pulsed-power generators to deliver electric pulses to wire arrays which are placed under water. The rapid delivery of energy to the wires causes them to expand rapidly. This rapid expansion generates converging cylindrical, spherical and super-spherical shock waves which generate an extreme state of water in the vicinity of implosion. Several method of diagnostics were used, such as, time-of-flight measurements, spectroscopy, and damages of different materials, as well as 1D and 2D hydrodynamic simulations coupled with equations of state of water, copper and aluminum. The generation of such extreme states is important to many research fields, like planetary physics and equations of state, and also to practical applications like x-ray lasers and particle beams. |
