Measurements of the gas-kinetic pressure in plasma flows emerging from a micropinch discharge by means of laser interferometry

A new method for measuring the gas-kinetic pressure in pulsed plasma flows is developed in which an acoustic line in the form of a thin rod built in the optical scheme of a laser interferometer is used as a detector. The time evolution of the gas-kinetic pressure in particle flows emerging from a micropinch discharge (a low-inductance vacuum spark) was studied. Due to the wide dynamic range of the method (∼105), it can be applied in various plasma devices with a wide range of parameters.