Investigation of Transient Forces Produced by Gases Expelled from Rapidly Heated Surfaces

A torsional impulse balance has been developed as a new diagnostic tool to study fundamental processes in laser‐surface interactions. The impulse balance has been designed and tested with a robust calibration system to measure impulsive forces with resolution as low as 1 nano‐Newton‐second. A simple technique has been developed to accurately determine the force as a function of time from the motion of the nano‐impulse balance system (NIBS). This technique will be useful in examining the transient responses of photon‐surface interactions. Initial ablation measurements using anodized aluminum plates at vacuum and with various background gases are presented.